Blue White Illustrated

Brother's memory inspires Gross-Matos I t was with a pair of 5s on his chest – jer- sey No. 55 – that Yetur Gross-Matos wreaked havoc on opponents, 8nishing with a school-record 18.5 sacks as a sen- ior at Chancellor High to become one of Virginia's most feared pass rushers. His younger siblings wear No. 5, too, or some variation thereof, in their youth sports. For the Gross-Matos family, the number has a special signi8cance. It calls attention to a person they'll always re- member and a day they'll never forget. Yetur was only 10 years old. His older brother, Chelal, was 12, and they were on the same Little League baseball team. Chelal was the one who wore No. 5 in those days, and Yetur admired almost everything he did. But the clouds moved in fast that day, and the game was forced into a weather delay. As the skies began to open up, Yetur made his way toward a vehicle. Chelal stood along the 8eld. "It started to rain a little bit, so I was getting into the car," Gross-Matos recalls more than eight years later. "Then I just felt this loud shake. My brother had been struck by lightning and he died on im- pact. That was his number. His number was 5, so ever since that day I've always worn 5." He honors his big brother with more than just his jersey. Gross-Matos has a tattoo in Chelal's memory on his arm, and his bedroom is "like a museum," he said. But it's the number that connects those memories with the present day. "The number for me is kind of like mo- tivation," he said. "Every time something doesn't work out or there is adversity, the number always reminds me to keep going and to keep my head up." On his basketball team, Gross-Matos also wears No. 5, and his varsity coach o:en sees a motivated brand of play on the court. He calls the 6-foot-5, 243- pound Gross-Matos an "old-school '80s type of basketball player" whose best at- tributes are carryovers from the football 8eld – shot blocking, screen setting and an eagerness to lay out across the hard- wood for a loose ball. His hoops coach is also his father, Rob Matos, and like Yetur, he knows the family tragedy so well that without a word being spoken he understands how it drives his son. "[Chelal] is on his mind. That's who he's playing for, and he's trying to make him proud," Rob Matos said. "They were very close. Although he was the larger child, he always looked up to his big brother." In the years since Chelal's passing, Gross-Matos has drawn upon his experi- ences and forged ahead in the name of his brother to become one of the most sought-a:er football recruits in the country. When it came time to select a college, he chose Penn State over Clemson, Ten- nessee and Virginia Tech. Alabama also o9ered a scholarship following his com- mitment, but he passed up the chance to play for the Crimson Tide. A:er announcing for PSU, Gross-Matos intensi8ed his approach to football work- outs. Through his junior season, he had relied upon his natural athletic ability, his lanky size and his inherent desire. Late in his junior year, however, he began foot- ball-speci8c drills during the o9-season. Training four days a week, he focused on an explosive weight regimen, speed exercises and hand and footwork tech- nique speci8c to defensive linemen. By the time his senior season began for Chancellor, it was a whole new player who took the 8eld. He went on to set the school's career and season records for sacks, while also registering 130 tackles and 21 tackles for loss. Matos was named his conference's Defensive Player of the Year and shared its Player of the Year honor. He also soared more than 100 spots in the recruiting rankings and 8n- ished as a Rivals250 prospect. "The di9erence was absolutely phe- nomenal," his father said. "You saw it in everything he did on the football 8eld. Despite the gaudy numbers, it was o:en against double- and triple-teams. He was still putting up big sack numbers and still put up the big tackle numbers. Basically | CLICK HERE to see video of Gross-Matos in action. THE GROSS-MATOS FILE STATS Was a four-year letterman at Chancellor High, fin- ishing his career with 272 tackles and a school-record 37 sacks... Had 130 tackles and 18.5 sacks as a senior... Let- tered in basketball and track HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 5 player in Virginia, No. 5 defensive end nationally and No. 136 overall prospect in the country... Was the Confer- ence 19-Battlefield District Defensive Player of the Year and Co-Player of the Year as a senior... Named Chancellor's defen- sive MVP... Was a second-team USA Today All- State choice Rivals.com

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