Penn State’s Max Granville should still be in high school. Instead, he’s backing up Abdul Carter in the Orange Bowl.
The defensive lineman joined the Nittany Lions after his junior season at Fort Bend Christian Academy in Sugar Land, Texas. He is making an impact already.
Penn State’s defensive line isn’t just talented, it’s deep. With junior defensive end Abdul Carter suffering an upper-body injury in the Fiesta Bowl, even freshman Max Granville got a chance to play in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Boise State — and played well.
Technically, he’s supposed to be enjoying his senior year of high school right now. Granville came to the Nittany Lions out of Sugar Land, Texas, following his junior year at Fort Bend Christian Academy. His father, Billy, is a Trenton native who was a Cincinnati Bengals linebacker from 1997-2000.
The younger Granville reclassified into the 2024 class just before Penn State’s training camp opened on July 31 and has since bulked up from 229 to 250 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame, getting him to an ideal weight. Sixth-year defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas has seen plenty of successful edge rushers in his tenure. His comparison? Former Nittany Lion Chop Robinson, who just completed his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins.
Granville played 11 snaps against Boise State, and he is Carter’s backup in Penn State’s Prowler package, a third-down pass-rushing alignment. A few Nittany Lions defensive players spoke with the media Sunday in advance of the Orange Bowl matchup against Notre Dame and talked glowingly about Granville’s progress.
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“Just in terms of his ability to get off the rock, he’s learning how to bend from Abdul, just his ability to bend, play through blocks,” J-Thomas said. “I think the difference between year one and year two for him is going to be tremendous.”
Glanville’s progress is a testament to the work he has done in a short amount of time. If he hadn’t reclassified, he would have arrived next summer. Instead he is a year ahead of the curve.
It’s not as if the buzz about him is just starting, though. In Granville’s second day with the program, defensive coordinator Tom Allen called him “a natural.” His physicality and explosiveness are the name of his game.
“It’s incredible to see a young guy like that come in after Abdul came out of the game and play … in Prowler and perform at a high level in a playoff game,” J-Thomas said.
The role is similar to one that defensive tackle Zane Durant played early in his career. Durant, another explosive lineman, was not as effective at the position but said it got him ready to play.
Perhaps it’s Granville’s preparation that has enabled him to have success. Sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas said Granville eats six boiled eggs a day. Even when Rojas went to Wendy’s on Saturday, Granville asked him to take him to Wawa for eggs since the training facility was closed.
It’s no wonder he put on about 20 pounds so quickly then. Granville is locked into the process and he’s impressing the upperclassmen.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen from him is how big he got very fast,” Rojas said. “Every day he’s in the weight room — he’s always trying to lift on an off day. … I respect him so much for that and he has a strong future.”