The Penn State football team has lost the state's No. 1 prospect and one of the nation's top high school quarterbacks.
Matt Zollers, a senior at Springford High School in Royersford, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, announced today that he will begin his college career at Missouri State.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect, who ranks among the nation's top 10 quarterback prospects, chose the SEC Tigers over finalists Penn State, Georgia and Pitt.
Missouri's appeal appears to focus on the team's rapid growth under head coach Eli Drinkwitz and an exciting spread offense led by coordinator Kirby Moore. The Tigers gained national attention by defeating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and finishing in their highest final ranking in a decade (8th, Associated Press).
At the school's announcement press conference, Zollers played a highlight commitment video, wore a Missouri hoodie and simply said he felt most comfortable here during his visit.
In doing so, he picked the Georgia Bulldogs, a perennial playoff powerhouse, the Nittany Lions, his home state that he visited most often during his recruitment, and Pitt, which had his brother's traits on the defensive line.
Penn State offered him a scholarship last fall after his impressive development at Spring-Ford, where he threw for a school-record 2,917 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He threw for 60 TDs and only five interceptions over the past two seasons.
Penn State's 2025 recruiting class already includes one quarterback among its 11 commitments. Beckem Kritza (6-5, 200 pounds) is a three-star prospect out of Miami Central, Florida, and is 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 Today Network. To contact him, fbodan@ydr.com Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared in the York Daily Record: Penn State quarterback Matt Zollers chooses Missouri over Penn State football
