After a recruiting dry-spell lasting over a month, James Franklin sent out his famous “We Are… Better” tweet Saturday, signaling the commitment of three-star athlete Aaron Mathews.

On Christmas Day, Mathews tweeted his top three schools: Pitt, West Virginia, and Toledo. However, at the bottom of the tweet read “PSU?” indicating his desire to earn a Penn State offer. Just two days later, James Franklin and his staff delivered, offering Mathews a scholarship. Mathews then committed just a few hours after Penn State’s 24-17 loss to Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

“I’d like to thank all the universities that took the time and recruit me but after sitting down for awhile and talking with my family, I’m blessed to say I’ve decided to commit to Penn State University!” Mathews said in a statement on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Goony_A1/status/683402544647946240/photo/1

While it hasn’t been made official yet, it seems that Franklin’s offer to Mathews is on the defensive side of the ball, as opposed to his high school positions at wide receiver and quarterback. Mathews’ versatility has been noted by many recruiting analysts. At 6-foot-5, 190 pounds, Mathews has a tremendous frame for strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt to work with.

His game tape highlights his high-energy style of play and his knack for big hits on defense. Mathews won All-Conference awards at both quarterback and linebacker and won All-Conference defensive player of the year this year.

Mathews’ commitment is important for Penn State in many ways. It continues Franklin’s in-state recruiting success, as Mathews plays for Clairton in the highly competitive Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). Naturally, this also marks another recruiting victory for Penn State over rival Pittsburgh. The commitment also helps Penn State gain depth on the defensive side of the ball for years to come.

Welcome to the family, Aaron!

Photo: twitter.com/Goony_A1/

About the Author

Cade Reed

is a sophomore Finance major from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Cade is our resident Penn State football optimist and he will defend Christian Hackenberg relentlessly in any forum. He is passionate about all things Penn State as he comes from a long line of Penn Staters before him. You can reach him at cade@onwardstate.com or follow him on Twitter @TheRealCadeReed.

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