Key 2025 Penn State football recruit reclassifies and is heading to Happy Valley

During James Franklin’s 10 years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions have consistently had one of the best defensive lines in the country. That should be the case again in 2024 even after sending Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac to the NFL, because new defensive coordinator Tom Allen will have Dani Dennis-Sutton and Abdul Carter as his edge rushers. 

The 2024 recruiting class, however, didn’t have the elite-level edge talent that Franklin has been accustomed to in Happy Valley, at least not until 2025 four-star Max Granville from Sugar Land Texas reclassified to the 2024 class. Granville was one of the headliners of Franklin’s 2025 class, but now he’s heading to Penn State this August for fall camp and enrolling as a freshman. 

After taking official visits to Baylor, USC, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, along with Penn State, Granville committed to the Nittany Lions back on June 24, and one month later on July 25, he signed his letter of intent and enrolled at the university. 

Granville is a lightning-quick edge rusher and at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds he could find his way on the field as a true freshman. He was a nightmare for opposing offensive tackles to stay in front of, combining impressive hand usage with his elite first step, and while he could struggle against the run early in his career, he shouldn’t have a problem getting pressure in obvious passing situations. 

Granville occasionally moved around the formation for Fort Bend Christian Academy but primarily played as a stand-up edge. While his tape isn’t exactly littered with sacks, he was applying pressure with ease and forced a lot of incompletions and interceptions. 

As a two-way player, Granville was a very impressive wide receiver, who despite his size, could easily separate from much smaller cornerbacks and with his long strides even took a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown, building a 10-yard gap between himself and the defenders giving chase by the time he reached the end zone. His athleticism is rare and he could be Penn State’s next elite edge rusher because of it. 

Getting Granville to re-classify is a two-fold victory for Franklin. Not only does it bolster his current freshman class that with three-star edge rushers Xavier Gilliam, Jaylen Harvey, and Mylachi Williams, is lacking a foundational piece at the position, but it also means that Franklin and his staff won’t be forced to sweat out Granville’s commitment on signing day this winter.

Dennis-Sutton and Carter aren't the only talented edge rushers on the 2024 roster, so Granville will have an uphill battle for playing time as an 18-year-old freshman. Penn State got 18 pressures from Amin Vanover last year, 14 from Zuriah Fisher, and two from 6-foot-5 rising sophomore Jameial Lyons who was a 2023 four-star recruit. That group is fairly locked into significant snaps at the edge spots, but recently at Big Ten media days, Franklin started to walk back the permanence of Carter's move from linebacker to edge.

Franklin told the assembled media, "We think he's got a chance to make a significant impact. Each week will decide where he's going to have an impact for us."

So, if Kobe King and sophomore Tony Rojas aren't getting the job done at middle linebacker, Carter could end up back in the second level of the Penn State defense with a Granville battling for reps with Vanover, Fisher, and Lyons opposite Dennis-Sutton.