Will Penn State land 2025 four-star Matt Zollers today?: Decision preview

UPDATE: Zollers has committed to Missouri.

“My connections at Missouri were just greater than they were anywhere else,” Zollers told On3. “This was a really tough decision for me to make. I ultimately decided this morning.”

Original story:

It’s decision day for Class of 2025 recruit Matt Zollers. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound four-star quarterback from Royersford, Pa., Spring-Ford High will pick between Penn State and three other finalists during a ceremony at his school this afternoon.

Head coach James Franklin’s team starts the day with 11 verbal commitments in the Class of 2025, including three-star quarterback Bekkem Kritza, which is good for a top 15 spot in the On3 Industry Team Rankings. Will the Lions land their second passer in this cycle on Thursday? Let’s take a look at Zollers’ upcoming announcement.

When is Matt Zollers picking his college home?

Zollers is set to pick his college destination at 3 p.m. ET. His high school’s Twitter account will stream the ceremony. You can watch it by clicking here.

Who are the contenders besides Penn State?

Former Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne and his Old Dominion program gave Zollers his first offer back in June of 2023, and Pittsburgh was the first Power Five program to offer him, doing so in September of that year. More than 20 programs joined the running between then and now, with Penn State doing so on Nov. 2, 2023.

The senior’s list of finalists includes the Panthers and Nittany Lions, plus Georgia and Missouri. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs offered the quarterback back in January of this year.

“All the schools had the same final pitch,” Zollers told On3. “It was that they really want to coach me, they see me at that specific school and they don’t want me anywhere else.” 

“Every school has their differences and some have some similarities to them,” he added. “I feel like every coaching staff is different in their own way, but what remains the same at most of the higher-up schools is the facilities. When you get to this level, everyone has all the nice facilities.” 

A dark horse selection is Alabama, which hosted Zollers back on Monday. However, it was his first trip there. And, Zollers has not, at least publically, reported an offer from the Crimson Tide yet.

What does the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine say?

Powered by a recruitment-leading seven visits to campus, Zollers’ proximity to State College, and other factors, Penn State starts the day in the lead for the four-star. But it’s important to note that, as of 6:30 a.m. ET on April 4, no expert predictions have been logged.

The On3 Industry Rankings call Zollers the nation’s No. 40 player in the Class of 2025, the No. 5 quarterback, and the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania for the next cycle. No recruiting source is as high on Zollers as On3 is. It calls him the No. 17 player overall, No. 3 quarterback, and top player in the Keystone State for this cycle.

What has Zollers said about his finalists?

Here is what the quarterback has told On3 about his list of choices:

Georgia: “The big thing with Georgia is stability. It’s hard to get stability with coordinators and that is what Georgia has done because coach Mike Bobo and coach Kirby Smart are not going anywhere.” 

Missouri: “I believe that I have great connections with everybody on the Missouri staff.” 

Penn State: “With Penn State, it is definitely about development. They have a single quarterbacks coach and then the offensive coordinator, so development is big up there.” 

Pittsburgh: “I believe that Pitt is trending upwards from what happened last year and they have something great happening up there.” 

Where can I learn the latest on Zollers’ announcement throughout the day?

Blue-White Illustrated subscribers can learn more all day long inside The Lions Den forum. Not a subscriber but want to become one? Follow THIS LINK to sign up for Blue-White Illustrated for just $1 for one month of access to premium team news, insider recruiting intel, the latest Penn State transfer portal news, the Lions Den message board, and so much more.