In three years at Penn State, Gross-Matos made his mark with 111 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 38 games.

In 2018, he became the 11th Nittany Lion to record 20 tackles for loss in a season. In 2019, he had 9.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. He projects no worse than a second-round pick and is expected to have a strong workout when defensive linemen take the field at the NFL Scouting Combine. Teams in Indianapolis likely will ask him about a civil lawsuit filed by a former player in January that alleges hazing in the Penn State football program.

His coaches believe Gross-Matos is best suited to play defensive end in a 4-3 scheme but can line up anywhere on the defensive line, particularly on passing downs. They laud his work ethic -- on the practice field and in games -- and his consistency. They say he is selfless and does not care about individual statistics or honors.

Spencer points to Gross-Matos' short-area quickness as special and said he can quickly decipher a block.

"To all the freshman, I say, 'Watch Yetur,' " Spencer said. "You tell him once, he does it, and he does it going 100 miles per hour."

Asked to describe Gross-Matos, Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry said: "A pleasure to coach. All he wants to do is do everything you ask as hard as hell. We wish everybody was like that. His coachability is off the charts."

Gross-Matos always has wanted to earn his way, and he has.

In the aftermath of his brother's death, he was named to two Little League all-star teams. While Yetur said he was a more-than-capable left fielder, he struggled to hit the ball. He was not the baseball player his brother was.

Believing the all-star nods were bestowed out of pity, he quit baseball. (Rob Matos suspects that the adults involved had good intentions in selecting Yetur but agreed with his son's assessment.)

That opened the door for Yetur to fall in love with football.

"(His brother's passing) definitely has impacted everything he does," Rob said. "That's why he works so hard for his goals. He wants to work hard and make his family proud, make mom and dad proud. But he feels like he has a responsibility because his older brother's not going to have an opportunity to ever fulfill (his dreams). So Yetur has to do that for him."

For Yetur, that represents responsibility, not a burden.