ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper rated Penn State football star Yetur Gross-Matos as the sixth-best player in his first Big Board of 2020 NFL Draft prospects.

Gross-Matos is one of three Big Ten defensive linemen in Kiper’s top six prospects. He’s listed behind fellow Ohio State’s Chase Young (No. 3) and A.J. Epenesa of Iowa (No. 5) in Kiper’s initial rankings of prospects available for selection next year.

“He stood out every time I turned on the Penn State tape,” Kiper said of Penn State’s star defensive end. “With eight sacks and 20 total tackles for loss, Gross-Matos is a really good penetrator, but he also can finish. That’s what I like most about him.”

After getting a bit of playing time during his freshman season, Gross-Matos burst onto the scene last year as a sophomore. He finished the season with 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks, both of which were team highs, and he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and was named to the third team by the Big Ten’s coaches.

Gross-Matos’ best game of the year was against Iowa. He finished with a career-high four tackles for loss and tied a career high with two sacks and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors following his standout performance. Penn State picked up a much-needed 30-24 win at Beaver Stadium in no small part thanks to Gross-Matos’ work in the trenches.

Standing at 6’5″ and weighing in at 265 pounds, Gross-Matos clearly has the frame to succeed at the next level, but his speed and ability to quickly get off the edge make him a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen. According to 247Sports, the junior’s 40-yard dash time is an impressive 4.52 seconds, which would’ve ranked second among all edge rushers at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.

Time will tell if Gross-Matos can maintain his top 10 ranking in next year’s NFL Draft class. For now, he has the potential to be Penn State’s first defensive lineman selected early of the NFL Draft since Courtney Brown was the first overall pick in 2000.