Ohio State’s interest in Zahir Mathis couldn’t have been more obvious.
Given the Philadelphia native’s status as the No. 38 overall prospect and sixth-best defensive end in the 2025 class, along with the scholarship offer he received at the end of May, one could’ve assumed that would be the case upon his first visit to Columbus. But Larry Johnson and company made it plain to see during the Buckeyes’ third high school camp session at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Wednesday.
In between one-on-one reps at the tail end of the session, defensive graduate assistant LaAllan Clark spent extensive time showing Mathis ways to refine his technique. When Mathis was given the chance to show off his skill set, the Buckeyes matched him up against two of the top offensive tackle prospects at the camp – 2024 OSU commit Ian Moore and 2025 Connecticut tackle Matty Augustine. The latter earned a scholarship offer from Justin Frye shortly thereafter.
Top-40 overall 2025 DE Zahir Mathis reps against 2025 OT Matty Augustine, who has multiple P5 offers, at OSU camp: pic.twitter.com/IoaCw8KfEU
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) June 14, 2023
Another 1 on 1 rep from Mathis pic.twitter.com/c1Ps8KjynN
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) June 14, 2023
But the coaching didn’t stop there. While the rest of the campers gathered on Ohio State’s central practice field for a customary wrap-up speech from executive director for football relations Tim Hinton, Mathis remained one field over as Johnson spent several minutes personally walking the top high school recruit in Pennsylvania through a few more technical tips.
During a post-camp interview, Mathis said he appreciated all the attention from the coach he exclusively referred to as “Larry Legend.” Mathis added that he plans to return to Ohio State campus for a gameday visit in the near future.
“It was great. Told me about my work ethic, I love his coaching staff,” Mathis said. “(They) did me well, helped me out with some reps. I lost some reps, then I won some reps, so it was pretty good for me just to come down here and consume that input. I'll try to get back sometime for a game, absolutely. Come down for a game to realize that atmosphere, I want to get down here to the Buckeyes."
Larry Johnson giving Mathis some pointers pic.twitter.com/0Pq41OYvpP
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) June 14, 2023
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound edge rusher already had dozens of high-profile offers before earning an offer from the Buckeyes last month. Mathis’ offer list includes a who’s who of blue-chip programs around the country; Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State, just to name a few.
Due in large part to the reverence he has for Johnson, though, the Ohio State offer was no less special.
“It was joy, man. Smiles. It was great,” said Mathis of his reaction to earning an OSU offer. “Appreciate to be here, everything like that. So, very great for me. That conversation went many ways, I would say. he talked to me about coming down here, getting on campus, everything like that. So it was just pretty great. Just to be down here, to get on campus and work out with him actually, to be coached by Larry Legend himself, that's pretty good. … He's patient. He's not gonna rush you throughout too much. If you mess up, just get back up and get back on the field, you'll be OK. So just the basics. Basics is 100 percent.”
Mathis was familiar with Johnson’s work long before his recruitment began. The Imhotep Institute product closely followed Chase Young’s 2019 season, in which the former Buckeye pass rusher set a program record with 16.5 sacks en route to becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist and the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft.
Along the way, Mathis learned about the position coach that helped make all of Young’s accomplishments possible.
“I learned about Larry Johnson (because of) Chase Young,” Mathis said. “The year Chase Young (dominated). It just impacted a big image on me because Chase Young was coming from the DMV and everything like that. Myself, I'm from Philadelphia, so just to be so close to home and everything, see his big impact on the world and everything like that. And then Larry Legend himself had both of the Bosa brothers. So it was pretty great.”
“Decision's still open and everything but here, (it's) like home, I could say. Like home. Appreciate being down here, great respect to Larry Legend.”– Zahir Mathis
So how does Mathis feel about the program after working with Johnson firsthand? He didn’t list any schools as being frontrunners in his recruitment, but it certainly sounds like Ohio State could be among them.
“I’ll give it a good decision, a good (consideration) and everything like that,” Mathis said. “Decision's still open and everything but here, (it's) like home, I could say. Like home. Appreciate being down here, great respect to Larry Legend.”
Beyond the football program, Mathis said the university itself is alluring. Mathis plans to emphasize academics once he gets to the next level and said he’s been impressed with what he’s learned about Ohio State on that front as well.
“It's a great school, wonderful school and everything like that,” Mathis said. “I actually want to come to college to get my engineering degree and business degree, so it would be good to get out and see the world, a complex of business outside of football. … At my school, we do a lot of STEM stuff. So a lot of STEM and engineering, stuff like that. So I'd just like to help out the world with STEM and everything like that. So one category, we had water pollution down in Jacksonville. We went down there to help out, fix that up.
More than anything, Mathis said relationships will be chief in determining where he ultimately takes his talents. And there’s little doubt that Ohio State will continue trying to build them with one of the top pass rushers in the country moving forward.
“Connection (is most important). I wouldn't want to go anywhere that I gotta be there and I'm uncomfortable,” Mathis said. “It's the next four years of my life, I want to have a great decision, great pride, great respect.”
