Penn State's Max Granville Smiles Through Setbacks as He Envisions Return

The Nittany Lions' promising defensive end looks forward to the 2026 season.

Penn State defensive end Max Granville talks with reporters during a media availability in State College. | Mark Wogenrich/Penn State on SI

STATE COLLEGE | Defensive end Max Granville was on the sideline at the Pinstripe Bowl in December when he realized he didn’t want his Penn State football career to end.  

“It really just had me thinking, man, like I love Penn State and I don’t want this to be my last game,” Granville said after a recent practice. “I want to keep building something here. I came here out of high school. It would be awesome to finish it out.”

But his path hasn’t been easy. The redshirt sophomore missed the 2025 season after sustaining a lower-body injury last spring while training at home in Texas. “Stuff happens, I guess,” Granville said. “You know, wrong surface, wrong cleat type of thing.” 

This spring, as Penn State conducts drills under Matt Campbell, Granville has been limited with what he called a “minor back issue” but anticipates being fully ready for fall camp. He has completed his rehab for the 2025 injury. 

“This new staff is really, really good about recovery and rehab,” Granville said. “And so when I’ve been running and everything, I feel great. I feel athletic, I feel fast. I put on some more muscle, so there’s no real trust issues. If I’m going to make a plant, I feel great.”

Unwavering gratitude 

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Max Granville (18) runs out of the tunnel before the 2024 Fiesta Bowl against the Boise State Broncos. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Before the injury last year, Penn State had high expectations for Granville in 2025. He was a unique story on the roster, having played in seven games as a true freshman in 2024. Granville should have been a high school senior but reclassified to graduate from Ford Bend Christian Academy and enroll at Penn State a full year early. 

Granville took over for the injured Abdul Carter on a specific third-down role against Boise State in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl and had been trending upward since. But during the players’ post-semester break, Granville sustained the injury. He knew it right away, even if he didn’t want to believe it. 

“I wanted to be in a little bit of denial,” Granville said. But then it was time to start the rehab process, during which he learned a lot about himself physically and mentally.

“I think the way I was raised, you know, my parents did a great job making sure I wasn’t soft,” Granville said. “My dad was always hard on me, so I feel like I’m able to handle situations like that.”

During games and even in the harder moments of Penn State’s 2025 season, Granville was always on the sideline, always grateful to be supporting his teammates. 

“I feel like there tends to be some self and selfishness within ourselves that we don’t even realize,” Granville said. “During the season, being able to support my guys when I’m not out there and wanting success for them, I think that’s been a big thing for me.”

He grew his understanding of the game by watching from the sideline, and experiencing the eagerness and confidence boost of wanting to make plays was one of the main things he learned.

“I do feel like I’m a special kind of player and I can make big plays when my team needs me,” Granville said. 

But Granville has still been sidelined and unable to participate fully in drills this spring. While that has been frustrating, he doesn’t linger in negativity.

“You just have to look at the positives,” Granville said. “I’m still super, super blessed to be here and I’m blessed to have fully recovered from my other injuries, so I’m just supporting my guys right now and really happy with everything’s going with the team.”

Even with how vastly different Penn State’s roster is this year, Granville believes it’s a “pretty tight-knit group and honestly, even more of a team than the past.”

“I give a lot of props to coach Campbell,” Granville said. “Just the culture he’s bringing in, like, you don’t really have a choice. You’re going to be unselfish, you’re going to be a team guy. No knock on the past, but I just feel like it’s more of a compliment to the current status of the team and everything.”

D'Anton Lynn's role in Granville's decision

Penn State Nittany Lion defensive end Max Granville (18) celebrates a turnover with teammates against Ohio State in 2024. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Granville was targeted by other programs as he pondered whether to enter the transfer portal. When James Franklin went to Virginia Tech, there was a conversation about him going, too. But D’Anton Lynn joining Penn State as the defensive coordinator “played a big part” in his decision to stay. 

Lynn recruited Granville when he was the defensive coordinator at USC, so they had a prior relationship. Granville was also familiar with Lynn’s scheme.

“I have a lot of confidence in him, and when I’m sitting in on these meetings, I’m really impressed with the scheme I see,” said Granville, who is excited about his role in the defense. “There’s a lot of crossover concepts from scheme to scheme, but I feel like [Lynn’s] really good about just putting you in position to make plays. And I think the big difference is the big interior guys. That’s really going to help us free up the edges in a lot of scenarios.”

Penn State has developed several edge rushers who are succeeding in the NFL, and Granville has paid special attention to game tape of Carter, Micah Parsons and Chop Robinson because they play with a similar style.

“Learning how they get off the ball and just their athleticism, different things like ankle mobility, hip mobility, making sure I’m flexible enough to bend the corner and run game, just practicing getting my hands straight,” said Granville about what he’s learned from watching film.

But Granville is slightly different in how he carries himself. Defensive end Ike Ezeogu, who transferred from Iowa State, has known him for a few months and noticed how quiet Granville can be. 

“I think that makes him who he is,” Ezeogu said. “I haven't really seen much [of Granville on the field] because he’s hurt, but I think that he’s going to be a great playe

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