Four-star edge Zahir Mathis committed to Maryland football on Wednesday, giving the Terps’ 2025 recruiting class an extra boost on national signing day.
Mathis hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the No. 12 edge and the No. 114 overall recruit, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He slots in as coach Michael Locksley’s second-best commit, which now ranks as the sixth-best class in the Big Ten.
247Sports’ scouting director Andrew Ivins called the 6-foot-6, 225-pound recruit a “stand-up pass rusher that has a chance to emerge as a game-wrecker in the coming years if he can match his technique and effort up with his elite physical features.”
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Mathis totaled 34 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks in his senior season at Imhotep Institute Charter High School. He recorded 52 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks the year before.
He originally committed to Ohio State in January 2024, later de-committing in November. Since his de-commitment, Mathis visited Florida State in early January and Maryland last weekend. He ultimately chose the Terps, who were one of the first to offer when his recruitment started in 2021.
Locksley said after early signing day in December that high school players “create the nucleus” of the program. Mathis may strengthen and help define the Terps’ defense for the foreseeable future.
