Max Granville should be enjoying a winter break from high school classes or getting an early first taste of college football practices. Instead, he has a full season of experience under his belt after fast tracking the typical process of enrollment. Granville joined Penn State this summer, and is now playing meaningful snaps in the College Football Playoff.
When an injury sidelined defensive end Abdul Carter in the second quarter of a 31-14 win over Boise State in Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl, Granville’s name was called. James Franklin sees him eventually playing a role similar to Carter, Micah Parsons, Chop Robinson and Odafe Oweh. For now, Granville wants to prove to his coaches and teammates he’s ready to make his mark.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable every time I get on the field,” Granville said postgame. “I felt really prepared when Abdul went down, and I’m looking forward to helping my team out in the future. Anything they need me to do, I’ll be ready, I’ll be prepared. And I was grateful for the opportunity. I hope Abdul gets back as soon as possible. But in the meantime, however my team needs me, I’ll step up.”
Carter’s health is the greatest question mark preceding the Nittany Lions’ Orange Bowl matchup with Notre Dame on Thursday. Franklin said he doesn’t “think” there’s anything stopping Carter from playing, but as of Saturday, “it’s too early to say” if he’ll play. That could signal an increased workload for Granville, who has assumed the role of Carter’s backup in third-down packages.
“Max, if you looked at him from a recruiting standpoint, was highly, highly productive as a 3-4 outside linebacker — dropping, interceptions, rushing the passer, doing a ton of different things,” Franklin said. “To me, we have thrived with those kinds of guys. You look at Chop, Micah Parsons. … You look at Odafe Oweh, another first round draft choice. We looked at him as a guy that could do a lot of different things within our defensive structure.”
It should say something that Granville has elicited comparisons to three first-round pass rushers, let alone being spoken in the same vein. Dvon J-Thomas, a sixth-year defensive tackle, has played alongside all of them: Parsons, Robinson, Oweh and Carter, a soon to be first-round selection. He can attest that it’s not just noise. Granville has the potential for super stardom.
“I feel like he has some similarities to Chop, just in terms of his ability to get off the rock. He’s learning how to bend from Abdul, just his ability to bend and play through blocks,” J-Thomas said. “Now, once the game starts slowing down for him, much like how Chop was in his first season in the NFL, … I think Max Granville will be in a similar position, just in terms of his college career, just getting comfortable at the end position.”
Granville appears to have already gotten comfortable within Penn State’s facilities. He’s unapologetically himself, and doesn’t seem to mind whether anyone finds him or his actions a bit strange. Granville keeps a strict routine that linebacker Tony Rojas has found most intriguing.
“I see him at breakfast, just eating six boiled eggs that our nutritionist has. … He’s like the first person I’ve seen do that,” Rojas said. “Last night, I was literally with him. We went to get Wendy’s last night, and he asked me to take him to WaWa to get some more eggs because he couldn’t get into the facility, which was funny.”
The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Granville isn’t built like most high school seniors. And he never felt like one when his junior year concluded last spring. Granville is set to turn 19 this winter, so he was always a year ahead of his peers at Fort Bend Christian Academy in Sugar Land, Texas. Now, Granville feels he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.
“It was an adjustment, but I felt like I was built for it,” Granville said. “I was about ready to get out the house and I feel like I was ready to go to the next level.”
