Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos, an All-Big Ten defensive end last season, is ready for a big year coming off a suspension
Gross-Matos was suspended after the end of spring practice for a violation of team rules and spent the entire summer at home, but communicated constantly with his coaches, including head coach James Franklin.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/IWTWM7LMMVE4ZIURZZTGTVAE4I.jpg)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – After a long summer at his home in Spotsylvania, Va., serving out a suspension imposed by head coach James Franklin, junior defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos is back with Penn State and ready to build on his All-Big Ten season of 2018.
Along with redshirt sophomore running back Journey Brown, Gross-Matos was suspended shortly after the end of spring practice for a violation of team rules. He said he was in constant communication with Franklin, as well as defensive coordinator Brent Pry and defensive line coach Sean Spencer, during his absence from campus.
“I talked to coach Franklin all the time,” he said. “I talked to coach Spence, coach Pry, they reached out to me. My teammates showed me tremendous support over my time, always reaching out and making me feel like I wasn’t alone and stuff. So yeah, I really appreciate all of them.”
The 6-foot-5, 264-pound Gross-Matos had 20 tackles for loss, including eight sacks, last season. He ranked 12th in the nation and second in the Big Ten at 1.5 TFL’s per game.
“I think he’s going to have a really big year for us,” Franklin said. “As the year went on last year, he really started to kind of separate himself, I think, into one of the more elite defensive ends in college football.
“We’re very pleased with him and his development, and his appreciation for being at Penn State and his appreciation for being a part of our football program and his attitude and approach. He’s always been a guy that always has a smile on his face.”
Gross-Matos has been listed in some mock NFL drafts as a No. 1 pick next year. He dismisses the talk saying, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t go out and do it.”
He called his time away “a learning experience that I felt I got better from,” and that he didn’t lack for motivation.
“My motivation was to get back here, where I am now,” he said. “I know how these guys work, I know what they did over the summer and I just hold myself to the same standard.”