Penn State DE Yetur Gross-Matos declares for NFL draft. Will he suit up one more game or sit out?
Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, who’s widely regarded as a potential first-rounder, announced Tuesday night that he will forgo his final year of eligibility in Happy Valley and declare early for the 2020 NFL draft.
The move was expected, as Gross-Matos has been projected as a potential first-round draft pick for more than a year now. In 11 games this season, he has 14 tackles for loss and a career-high 8.5 sacks.
“After careful consideration, countless discussions with my coaches, family and other advisors, I have decided to forgo my final year of eligibility and declare for (the) 2020 NFL draft,” he announced via Twitter. “Even though I am leaving, I have promised my family and Coach (James) Franklin that I will continue to pursue my Penn State degree.”
Gross-Matos sat out of the regular-season finale against Rutgers with an apparent arm injury. But it looks as if he intends to compete in the Nittany Lions’ bowl game. In the final line of his written statement, he wrote, “I look forward to suiting up for the blue & white one final time in our bowl game.”
The Virginia native gained national acclaim this season for both his play and his moving off-field story, about dealing with the death of his father to a drowning accident and his brother to a lightning strike. On the field, the soft-spoken junior usually let his play do the talking.
But it had plenty to say over his career, where he racked up 36 tackles for loss and 18 sacks in 37 career games (24 starts). His improvement was impossible to ignore. He was an honorable mention on BTN’s All-Freshman All-Big Ten team, then he became a first-team all-conference media selection as a sophomore, before becoming a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten pick Tuesday as a junior.
“Whatever you expect from Yetur,” defensive line coach Sean Spencer told reporters earlier this year, “he’s going to give you even more.”
Franklin has often said he understands if players leave early to be a first-round NFL draft pick — and that appears to be where Gross-Matos is headed. Draft Tek projects him to go No. 6 overall, The Sporting News has him being taken at No. 25 overall, and CBS Sports has No. 28. ESPN’s Todd McShay also slotted Gross-Matos at No. 29 overall on his Big Board.
Since Saturday, Gross-Matos is the third Nittany Lion to make his future draft plans known. He is the first to declare early, as both tight end Pat Freiermuth and center Michal Menet said they were returning for at least one more season.
The 2020 NFL draft will take place April 23-25 in Paradise, Nevada. The NFL combine, where Gross-Matos will undoubtedly be invited, is scheduled for Feb. 23 to March 2 in Indianapolis.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 6:49 PM.
