The Mathis Impact

Ohio State landed another huge foundational type of piece to its 2025 recruiting class on Wednesday afternoon with the commitment of consensus Top 100 defensive end Zahir Mathis.

Let’s take a closer look at what Mathis will bring to the Ohio State roster.

What Ohio State is getting

To put it simply, a pure edge rusher. There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about whether the Buckeyes have enough pure speed coming off the edge and Mathis will certainly go a long way toward filling that void. Mathis is a long, athletic pass rusher with a tremendous first step.

His massive wing span, when properly utilized will arguably be his best strength, he’s able to get hands on offensive linemen before they can get to him and he has the bend to get around the edge and create havoc. The long arms also show up on film with numerous batted balls at the line of scrimmage.

This is a player with a great frame, reminiscent of a Chase Young or Zach Harrison in terms of his build and he has steadily improved since bursting onto the scene as a freshman.

What it means for recruiting

That huge noise you just heard was a collective sigh of relief from the Ohio State fan base. Defensive end recruiting has come down to the wire in each of the last three cycles. While the work isn’t done, the Buckeyes have a supremely talented prospect in the fold 12 months early.

Ohio State also has two more options who could decide by mid-summer and who the Buckeyes currently sit in tremendous shape for in in-state star Justin Hill out of Winton Woods and IMG Academy’s London Merritt who just transferred in from Atlanta Woodward Academy.

Ohio State is looking for at least three defensive ends in this class and the above two would be an ideal situation for the Buckeyes as all of these guys are outstanding pass rushers.

There is also Cleveland Heights star Brandon Caesar who holds an offer from Ohio State but could potentially slide inside to tackle at the next level.

While there is plenty to be done still, this sets up as a less stressful situation than the past two with the potential of several early commits.

This Buckeye defensive class is off to a tremendous start and will have a chance to be one of the very best in the nation if they can continue to hit on top targets.