Penn State lands blue-chip 2025 edge rusher after battle with SEC powerhouses

It has been an interesting week for the Penn State 2025 recruiting effort. Since last Friday, the Nittany Lions have four commitments and have lost two four-stars to flipped commitments, one to Auburn and embarrassingly, one to Rutgers. The fourth commitment of that group came on Monday evening when it was announced that four-star edge rusher Max Granville from Sugar Land, Texas had verbally committed to play his college ball in Happy Valley. 

Granville was coming off a weekend visit in Norman, Oklahoma, and quickly spurned the Sooners with his decision. After an April official visit to Baylor, the 6-foot-2 220-pound edge kicked off his summer official visits at Penn State on May 31, and since that weekend has taken trips to USC, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma. 

James Franklin has needed to flex his muscles with Auburn plucking Alvin Henderson away last week and Rutgers keeping DJ McClary at home in New Jersey over the weekend. This is a massive addition to the 2025 class. Granville joins Daryus Dixson as the only top 200 players in Penn State’s 2025 class according to 247Sports. 

At 220 pounds, Granville will be a bit undersized for the Big Ten game and must add weight to be effective at the next level, especially against the run. However, his get-off is elite and he could almost certainly beat collegiate offensive tackles to the quarterback right now with his speed and when it’s at its best, his hand usage. 

While predominantly a speed rusher, Granville has a variety of pass-rushing moves, even breaking out a lethal spin move occasionally. I’d be a huge surprise if he’s not a useful pass rusher at the next level. 

With Abdul Carter making the switch from linebacker to edge rusher, Penn State is loaded on the defensive line. Behind Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton are Amin Vanover, Zuriah Fisher, and Jameial Lyons. However, because of that depth, the position was not a high priority in the past two recruiting classes, so Granville will be counted on to contribute as early as his freshman year.