Four-star edge rusher Zahir Mathis announced his commitment to Maryland football during Wednesday’s National Signing Day, becoming the sixth four-star recruit of coach Mike Locksley’s 2025 class and the third-highest-ranked player in the group.

The Terps’ incoming class is 25th best nationally and eighth in the Big Ten after Mathis’ commitment, according to 247Sports. He joins 20 signees who committed to Maryland during the early signing period in December. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound edge rusher from Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia chose the Terps over Michigan, Florida State and UCLA.

“Coach Locksley, he’s a big figure for me,” Mathis said on a livestream with family seated beside him from his high school. “When I was down there on my visit, it was big for me. Myself and my family, we had a great time. Throughout the camps and the process of my journey, it was amazing to be close to home.”

Mathis tallied 34 tackles and three sacks his senior season, according to MaxPreps. He verbally committed to Ohio State in November before reopening his recruitment and announcing this week that Maryland was in the final group of schools he was considering.

He’s the 166th-ranked player nationally and 20th best at his position, according to 247Sports. Only quarterback Malik Washington (Spalding) — who Mathis said he played with at the youth level and was instrumental in his decision — and offensive lineman Jaylen Gilchrist are ranked higher than Mathis in Maryland’s 2025 class. That trio headlines a group that 247Sports slots as Locksley’s best haul since 2021 and that ESPN ranks as the Terps’ best since its database began in 2006.

Mathis said how he’ll be deployed in College Park was key in his commitment.

“It stood out to me the most because, for my next chapter, I have to be uncomfortable to be great,” Mathis told 247Sports. “Being a hand-down edge, it’s a natural dream for me. That’s amazing for me. I love being a hand-down edge. But if I can be hybrid with my size and wing[span], that right there is what they all want. Those are the schemes you are seeing. If you can’t do it all, should they really trust you on the field?”

Mathis is currently the only commit Maryland has announced on Wednesday’s National Signing Day.

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