Blue White Illustrated

T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N the ground was vibrating. Still outside, Sakinah and several others were knocked off their feet. Chelal and his teammate had both been hit. The teammate was taken to a nearby hospital with serious burns, and though listed in critical con- dition, he survived. Chelal did not. It's been nearly a decade since his brother died, and Gross-Matos has tried to keep his memory alive. He used to wear Chelal's jersey No. 5 in high school, and while that number wasn't available at Penn State, he does have a tattoo on his arm in memory of his brother. Rob Matos told BWI in 2017 that Chelal "is always on his mind. That's who he's playing for, and he's trying to make him proud." Gross-Matos had showed immediate promise at Chancellor. Matched up against offensive tackle Steven Moss, a Ri- vals.com four-star recruit who is now at Virginia, he impressed the coaching staff in the summer workouts leading up to his freshman season, displaying an ability to get to the passer. Four years later at Penn State, that pattern recurred. Gross-Matos was one of three true freshmen to see ac- tion last year, playing in all 13 games. In the Fiesta Bowl, he dropped Washington quarterback Jake Browning for a fourth- quarter sack that helped Penn State hold on to defeat the Huskies, 35-28. That per- formance turned out to be just a teaser for his terrific sophomore season. Defensive line coach Sean Spencer said that Gross-Matos has gotten better as he's packed more muscle onto that rangy 6-5 frame. The coaches knew all along that he had great potential for growth. As Spencer noted, "He's got the biggest feet I've ever seen in my life." Gross-Matos can move those feet aw- fully fast, which is another reason for his success. Said Spencer, "His short-area quickness is phenomenal. He's able to go straight, make a turn and get back to bal- ance in a matter of seconds. You can draw up a blitz, or draw up a twist, and he's able to make those lines make sense." Lately, Franklin has been citing Gross- Matos at team meetings as an example not just of how to play on Saturdays, but how to prepare throughout the week. Said the coach, "When your team sees a guy practice like that all the time and then is able to have the success that he's had, it sends a great message for our whole team in terms of what work ethic and motor can do." "I'm really pleased," Franklin added. "He's a guy that we've been excited about for a while. He's got the body type you're looking for, he's got the athleticism you're looking for, he's got the mentality. … It's all starting to come together for him right now." ■ While Penn State's defensive ends have been thriving this year, thanks to a deep rotation that has enabled the group to overcome the loss of presumed starter Ryan Buchholz in August, the middle of the line has been a work in progress. The Nittany Lions have been able to keep starters Kevin Givens and Robert Windsor healthy throughout the year, but they began the season without much depth behind their top two players, and things got worse when second-team tackle Fred Hansard su=ered a season-ending leg injury against Michigan State. Even before Hansard's injury, the coaching sta= was su>ciently con- cerned about the lack of depth at de- fensive tackle that freshman C.J. Thorpe was moved over from the of- fensive line and got onto the

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