How Penn State football loses top quarterback, Matt Zollers, to the SEC

Penn State football has missed out on the No. 1 prospect in the state — and one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation.

Matt Zollers from Spring-Ford High in Royersford, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, announced Thursday he will start his college career at Missouri.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder, who ranks among the nation’s Top 10 QB prospects, picked the SEC’s Tigers over finalists Penn State, Georgia and Pitt.

Missouri’s appeal would seem to focus on its rapid team surge under head coach Eli Drinkwitz and an exciting spread offense run by coordinator Kirby Moore. The Tigers gained national attention by beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and finishing with their highest final ranking (No. 8 in the Associated Press) in a decade.

At his announcement press conference at this school, Zollers played a highlight commitment video, pulled on a Missouri hoodie and then simply said he felt most comfortable there during his visits.

Spring-Ford High School quarterback Matt Zollers at a game in the 2023 season

In doing so, he turned down perennial playoff power Georgia Bulldogs, the home-state Nittany Lions, who he visited most often during his recruitment, and Pitt, which features his older brother on the defensive line.

Penn State offered him a scholarship last fall during his remarkable rise at Spring-Ford, when he threw for a school-record 2,917 yards, 37 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He’s thrown 60 TDs to just five interceptions over the past two seasons combined.

Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class already does include one quarterback among its 11 commits. Bekkem Kritza (6-5, 200 pounds) is a three-star prospect at Miami Central in Florida, rated as the No. 32 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-football-loses-top-192404555.html

Author : York Daily Record

Publish date : 2024-04-04 19:24:04

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