Penn State football: James Franklin excited for Yetur Gross-Matos’ 2019 effort

Penn State football defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos has James Franklin excited about what’s to come in 2019.

It’s been a strange offseason for Penn State football defensive end, Yetur Gross-Matos. For whatever reason, the Junior defensive end was forced to miss all of the offseason workouts/practices due to an undisclosed suspension. Despite being one of the Nittany Lions best players heading into the new season, Gross-Matos was no exception for punishment.

However, Penn State head coach James Franklin won’t be holding any grudges towards him. As the final phase of the offseason kicked off late last week, Gross-Matos was back in action with his team and giving everybody something to be confident about heading into the 2019 season.

It’s no secret the Lions will be a force on defense. While most of their questions and concerns lie on the offensive side of the ball, Gross-Matos and the rest of the Lions defense are issuing Penn State’s coaching staff something to be excited about. And recently, head coach James Franklin predicted a big year from Yetur Gross-Matos at Penn State’s media day this past weekend.

What to expect from the Junior defensive end:

"“He’s had a great summer, from what I see. He looked great (Friday). I know he’s appreciative of being back. I think he’s going to have a really big year for us; as the year went on last year, he really kind of separated himself into one of the elite ends of 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,”"

Last season, Gross-Matos shared snaps with some of his elder pass rushers. However, at a point, it became clear that the Virginia native was going to be a lone star in the future — and the future is now. With 54 total tackles and 20 of them being for a loss last year, Gross-Matos will have some serious attention surrounding him during his 2019 effort.

Considering he’s viewed as a potential first-round pick before the 2019 season even kicks off just proves he’s in for another monster season. The national writers see it, James Franklin sees it, and soon we will all see just how dominant Gross-Matos will be.