Penn State star defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday night. He becomes the first Nittany Lion taken in this year’s draft and the highest picked Penn State defensive lineman drafted since Jared Odrick in 2010.

Gross-Matos leaves Penn State with 19 career sacks and 37 tackles for loss over a three-season career. Those marks have him tied for 10th all-time on the career sacks list for the Nittany Lions, and 11th all-time in tackles for loss.

The former four-star recruit finished his 2019 junior season with 40 tackles and 9.5 sacks. His best performance of the season came in a loss to Ohio State, where he had nine tackles and two sacks.

Gross-Matos has been a consistent projected first rounder since he declared for the NFL Draft in December, but had been placed anywhere from a mid-first round pick to an early second-rounder. This held true when the Panthers took him off the board early Friday night.

Participating in the virtual draft, Gross-Matos was able to hear his name called live Friday night, and despite the new set-up due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is still a special time for him as he enters the next phase of his football career.

Gross-Matos will provide a much needed boost of athleticism and speed to Matt Rhule’s defensive line. On top of being the Panther’s head coach, Rhule is also a Penn State letterman and State College native.