Penn State picked up one of its most important commitments in the 2025 class last week with the addition of four-star edge rusher Max Granville . A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Granville had long been considered one of the staff’s key targets at defensive end, but there was also no shortage of competition.
In addition to his official visit to State College, Granville checked out Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and USC. As he admitted in an interview with Blue White Illustrated on Tuesday , each school gave him a lot to think about. But in the end, it was Penn State’s culture and defensive scheme that helped get this recruitment over the line for the Nittany Lions.
To get a better feel for the details, we caught up with Granville’s father, Billy, who happened to play in the NFL for four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. His perspective on why Penn State was ultimately the best fit for Max offered a lot of insight into not just the program’s culture but also how successful the staff has been at developing players just like his son in recent years.
In this two-part series, we’ll start with Granville’s thoughts on the coaching staff and when Penn State became a school they had to seriously consider.
Ryan Snyder: You mentioned previously the importance of PSU’s defensive scheme, but from a parent’s perspective, how well did you relate with the coaching staff? How did that play into this decision?
Billy Granville: Certain things can make a school a good fit. There are certain things that can check a lot of boxes, but being comfortable, I think that’s important. I always tell folks that these these programs aren’t recruiting you to be their friend, but at the same time, you want to feel comfortable and I do think that played a role as far as Max’s commitment to Penn State.
Obviously, the scheme and all that’s important, but the Penn State culture, from my perspective, and I think coaches and staff at Penn State would agree, Max, he’s a Penn State guy. For myself, growing up on the East Coast, Penn State has always kind of had that reputation for being that blue-collar, tough football culture that’s no-nonsense. Max really embraces that and fits into that.
As parents, we were clear from the beginning with Max that this was his decision. We were going to support whatever he decided, but obviously, as parents, you still want to feel comfortable with whoever is coaching your son and who he’s going to be around and all those things. Sure, football is the main thing, but from our perspective as a family, his growth as a person is important, too. And so, we felt like Penn State really has the type of culture that that we feel comfortable with.
Snyder: What are your thoughts on James Franklin?
Granville: I’ve always been impressed with James Franklin . I didn’t really start following James until Vanderbilt, but I just felt from his time there, and then moving forward, I just always had a lot of respect for him. I didn’t know him personally, but just seeing how he runs his programs and what he’s about, I’ve had a lot of respect for him for a long time. He’s the type of guy that you want your son to play for.
Snyder: Was there any one singular point where Penn State became a serious option? Were they always up there, or did maybe his first or second visit change his outlook more than he expected?
Granville: Max was very close to committing to Oklahoma back in January. They had been recruiting him a long time now. There was a lot of relationship equity with Max and Oklahoma. For him to say no to them at the end, even though Max made the right decision, that’s a very painful process because the relationship was so strong in a genuine way.
But when he went for one of their elite junior days at the end of January, Max was feeling very strongly about Oklahoma, so one of their coaches asked him how he was feeling. He knew they were checking a lot of the right boxes at the time. Max said he wasn’t sure right then but wanted to take a week or two to think about it. In early February, the coach circled back and Max said he wasn’t ready to commit because there was one school I really liked that he hadn’t visited yet. The coach was kind of puzzled and then Max told him it was Penn State.
He approached me then about taking a visit to Penn State. He said that if he went up there but wasn’t going to end up taking an official visit to Penn State, he would’ve just ended up committing to Oklahoma. So, that’s what led to the March unofficial visit to Penn State. I left that visit, as a dad, thinking, ‘Ok, this is a really good fit for Max. This may be the best place for him.’
My wife then went with him for the official visit to Penn State. I wanted her to have that time with him, for many reasons, but also because it is far away and I wanted her to make her own opinion. So, she went into it a bit skeptical but left that visit with the same conclusion.
Snyder: Penn State’s recent history at defensive end is really strong. They’ve sent six players to the NFL in the past five years, all of whom were selected in the first three rounds. Did that impact you or Max at all?
Granville: I definitely think there’s value in having that many guys drafted at a position consistently. I think, specifically for Max, he has good awareness that he’s not a prototypical defensive end. He has a frame and athletic profile similar to Chop [Robinson] and those guys.
I think, most importantly for Max, him knowing that he’s a smaller, twitchier guy, I think that’s where Penn State’s success gives him more confidence than most defensive ends in general. You can look at stats and testing numbers and all of that stuff you see at the combine, which is important, but for us, looking at the film was big. The film doesn’t lie. You hear that they led the nation in TFLs and led the nation in sacks, which is great to know, but actually sitting there with Deion Barnes and watching how many plays they make in the run game or the pass game, it’s extremely compelling. Seeing really is believing. This wasn’t just a couple of clips here or there. We spent an hour going over film with them.
We’ve been to other schools where they couldn’t really show the film of their current guys consistently doing it. So, for myself and Max, I think that was more impressive than the actual draft results and where they landed. When you actually see how they play, the disruption they bring, it’s so much more than just stats.
The post Max Granville’s father: ‘Penn State really has the type of culture that that we feel comfortable with’ appeared first on On3 .
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