:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59794609/usa_today_10418080.0.jpg)
The final year of the 2017 recruiting cycle was only a few days old when Yetur Gross-Matos picked Coach James Franklin and Penn State over other elite schools. The four-star defensive end stuck with his commitment throughout the next year, eventually moving up on the boards, spurning late pushes for his services from Alabama and Clemson, and finished as the class’s fourth best recruit, a top ten player both in his home state of Virginia, and at his position nationwide.
While some expected Gross-Matos to redshirt his first year, his talent and size (even before Dwight Galt got ahold of him) said something else, and he saw time immediately, against Akron the first. He ultimately played a big part of the defensive line’s three-deep, being named an Honorable Mention in BTN.com’s all-freshman team last season.
Gross-Matos may not be able to start immediately at the beginning of the 2018 season (this team does boast Shane Simmons, Shareef Miller, Ryan Buchholz and Shaka Toney at end as well, after all)—but he’ll be a great change of pace immediately, especially knowing how defensive line coach Sean Spencer rotates his lineup.
Plus, anyone who’s willing to don a wig and dance out for the kids has got the love of this humble blogger, anything else notwithstanding.