Yetur Gross-Matos will crack you up. But Panthers rookie’s story is no laughing matter
The group of Penn State freshman football players waited to begin their dance. Some wore hats, others had slightly different accessories, but they all wore their Nittany Lion blue jerseys. Well, all but one.
A couple of rows back stood Yetur Gross-Matos, decked out in a bright pink wig and a white tank top. The team was dancing as part of Penn State’s 46-hour dance marathon that every year raises money for families of children with cancer.
When Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” came on, let’s just say Gross-Matos certainly showed off his flexibility. All for a good cause.
Sakinah Matos laughed when asked about her son dancing in the video with his Penn State teammates.
“Which (video)?” she asked. There are many. He gets his moves and goofiness from his mother, who calls dancing an “outlet” for herself. His signature dance moves show off some of what his body is capable of doing. Gross-Matos can squat down and clap with his thighs. Sakinah said she’s not sure where the move originated, but former high school teammate Jason Brown remembers him doing it before every game.
“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Brown said.
There’s also a story of Yetur ripping his pants while doing a split at a homecoming dance and his stepdad having to bring him new ones.
Ask anyone who has known Gross-Matos how they would describe the 22-year-old Carolina Panthers rookie defensive end’s personality, and the word “goofy” will inevitably come up. That and how he’s often smiling and rarely seen without his signature shoes — Crocs, which he has in multiple colors and has worn since middle school.
“My personality has always been that way,” Gross-Matos said. “I just felt like my body, the way I move is just strange. Like people would just watch me, people would be like, ‘Why do you walk like that?’ Everybody would just say, ‘Everything’s just a little thrown off.’ I just always had that kooky effect. So anytime I say something, everybody just laughs, and I wasn’t even joking.”
At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Gross-Matos’s size is normal for an NFL defensive end, but abnormal for the world in general. When he was a baby, Sakinah couldn’t buy him socks or booties until he started walking because his feet were too wide.
The perception of his size among his friends at Freedom Middle School and Chancellor High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was more extreme than reality. One former teammate claims he wore a size 17 shoe in the sixth grade, although Gross-Matos and his parents say he was about two sizes above his age until he was 15.
Being bigger than most of the kids his age first linked him to football. He was a natural fit even before he had any interest in the physicality that comes with playing the sport.
While his movement might have caused laughter, it also led to his career today. His natural ability, combined with effort, humility and the support of a tightly-knit family, are the foundations for his success.
He has now moved into a consistent starting role for the Panthers, now that he’s healthy.
Gross-Matos has dealt with a concussion and spent three weeks on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. He also was on the reserve/COVID-19 list and had an unrelated illness earlier in the year. He missed a combined four games, which can stunt a rookie’s development, especially in a year with a limited offseason. Although injuries haven’t been an issue to this extent before in his career, it’s nothing compared to what he has dealt with in his life.
In a year that has been anything but conventional, the 2020 second-round draft pick is part of the Panthers’ future. He has shown flashes and potential in his first season, nothing that would allude to the way he moved as being a joke.
Gross-Matos grows as a person, athlete
Sakinah picked the name of her children first based on the meaning, not the sound or spelling.
Yetur Akkub Gross-Matos was named after a biblical term in the Old Testament — Yetur means “surrounded, encased” and Akkub means “family.” (It’s pronounced YEE-tore, AH-koob, gross mah-toes.)
It doesn’t take understanding the origins of his name to tell just how close his family is. Sakinah and his stepfather, Rob, whom he considers his dad, and his older sister, Qeturah, and younger siblings, Robby and Cristina, all go to great lengths to support each other and are a very athletic group.
“I don’t think there’s any family, and I think anybody that knows us will probably agree, that’s closer than we are,” Rob said.
Gross-Matos is someone who has experienced more loss than most people have by age 22. His biological father, Michael Gross, who was 29 at the time, died drowning after saving 2-year old Yetur’s life in 2000. Nine years later, his older brother, Chelal, died when he was struck by lightning on a baseball field with Gross-Matos and their parents not far away in the parking lot.
He started playing football at around 10 years old almost purely because people wanted him to play. His size made him appear to be a natural-born lineman.
“I remember I’ve been taller than my teachers since I was in fourth grade,” Gross-Matos said.
The problem? He didn’t really like the physicality of playing football.
“Most of the kids were smaller than him; he didn’t want to hurt anybody. He didn’t like to hit anybody,” said Rob Matos, his stepfather who legally adopted the three older children, “which would infuriate me cause I’m like, ‘If you’re gonna be out here, you got to do something. We got to compete.’ ”
Gross-Matos went to his parents and told them he didn’t want to play anymore, saying he was only playing because he thought Rob wanted him to. But Rob told him that he just wanted him to give 100% to whatever he was doing, so he focused on other sports like baseball, basketball and track.
Eventually, Gross-Matos regained interest and said he wanted to try out for the middle school football team, partly just to spend time with friends. Sakinah wasn’t sure he’d make the team.
“I’m like, ‘Of course he’s going to make it, he’s like 6-foot-2,’ ” Rob said. “’They’re going to take him no matter what.’”
He didn’t play much in seventh grade, but in eighth grade he played every snap on the offensive and defensive lines, but Rob says he “had no clue” what he was doing.
When he tried out for the high school team as a freshman, he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, second-fastest on the team, and the coaches asked him if he wanted to be a tight end or a wide receiver. But he wanted to be a lineman. Offensive and defensive lines were what he knew.
Football became a passion. It was an activity to occupy his mind, something he could focus on after dealing with unthinkable tragedies at a young age.
“After (my brother passed), I felt like I was kind of reaching for anything to kind of take my mind away,” Gross-Matos said. “Sports gave me a great outlet for that. That’s kind of what made me go so hard.”
Opening up after Chelal died wasn’t easy for Yetur.
“I think once he found his love in football and that became his passion, and it really allowed him to create some relationships and open up a little bit about some things, and it just really became his motivation,” Rob said. “He just felt like, ‘I have an obligation to my family and to go out here, do the best that I can and hopefully one day be able to do something special for my family.’ ”
Development at Penn State paves way for NFL career
It was his sophomore year of high school that Gross-Matos really started to show his potential. He did well on the camp circuit and had seven sacks and 68 tackles in 10 games. He continued to improve and had 11.5 sacks his junior year and 18.5 his senior year, in addition to 130 tackles
One of his high school assistant coaches in charge of college recruiting, J.P. Gibbons, referred to him as a “generational” type player for him as a coach.
During his last two years of high school, Gross-Matos would take the one hour-plus drive to Chantilly, Virginia, mostly with his parents, to train with Sudan Ellington, a top defensive line coach, in addition to his usual work.
Many of the top schools in the country offered Gross-Matos an opportunity to play football at the next level. The first offer was from the Charlotte 49ers, one of the early prospect camps he attended on a tour of different schools with some of his teammates and coaches. Those camps included powerhouse-type schools like Clemson.
Matt Rhule and Temple were interested, but that didn’t go very far. Alabama came and offered Gross-Matos on the spot in Gibbons’ office.
Gross-Matos ended up as a Nittany Lion.
Once at Penn State, it was evident that he had to continue to develop and learn about the game of football. At the same time, it was instantly clear that he had potential.
His former teammate, Ryan Buchholz, who was two years ahead of him at Penn State, observed Gross-Matos when he came in as a freshman.
Buchholz felt that Gross-Matos should start right away and not take a redshirt year, as many do in similar situations. Despite knowing that a year without playing could give Gross-Matos more time to learn about football and put on more weight, Buchholz felt they needed him on the field.
So, a few days into camp of Gross-Matos’ freshman year, Buccholz told defensive line coach Sean Spencer, now with the New York Giants, and Penn State head coach James Franklin what he thought. They agreed and gave Buchholz the responsibility of mentoring him.
His natural ability, once again, was something that Buchholz told him to take advantage of.
“I don’t know how he does it, but he used to be able to just naturally do moves,” Buccholz said. “I would tell him all the time: ‘Don’t change yourself up. Do what feels right when you’re out there.’ All that kind of stuff.”
It wasn’t until college, when Gross-Matos was competing and beating players who had been there for years, that he realized professional success in football was achievable.
Each year of college, he improved and finished his three-year career tied for 10th all-time at Penn State with 19.0 career sacks.
That ability to learn and improve is a theme in Gross-Matos’ development as a football player. Panthers defensive line coach Mike Phair references the rookie’s ability to listen and absorb as something that he views as a great asset to his development, even when he was unable to play.
“I’m trying to find a way to get better, even when I haven’t been on the field,” Gross-Matos said. “Meeting extra, watching extra film, just talking to other guys on the team about the best way to stay locked in, so when I come back it’s not a dramatic falloff.”
Commitment shows in Gross-Matos’ rookie season
Rob and Sakinah Matos remain committed to traveling and attending as many games as they possibly can — as they always have — despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the limited attendance numbers, Gross-Matos can hear them during games occasionally, something he loves and is a first since high school. Some family members watch his games on television, and some former coaches and teammates see his highlights online.
Gross-Matos’ first career sack came against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. On third-and-2 from the Carolina 38-yard line, the Panthers rookie got around Arizona Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries with ease.
Buchholz watches games when he can, but otherwise will catch his former teammate’s plays online. When he saw what Gross-Matos did against the Cardinals, he recognized it right away.
“That move (the double-hand swipe against the Cardinals), he does that all the time. I’ve never been able to do it. He used to do that against everyone in one-on-ones and he would beat people in almost every rep,” Buchholz said. “Even against some of our best O-linemen, it’s hard to explain how someone so big could be so slippery.”
The Panthers hope and see potential for him to develop into a strong player opposite second-year defensive end Brian Burns and continue to grow into his body. Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow has even referred to the way Gross-Matos moves as “awkward,” intending it as a compliment for him as a pass rusher.
“The thing I can say about Yetur is he is always adapted, persevered, overcame things and has always had a smile on his face. I’ve learned more from him on how to react to certain things in life than I think I’ve learned from myself,” Gibbons said. “It’s amazing.”
Hopefully, with a couple more dance moves to come.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Yetur Gross-Matos will crack you up. But Panthers rookie’s story is no laughing matter."
