Ethan Grunkemeyer arrived at Penn State in January with plenty of career promise but a firm place in the Nittany Lions' quarterback room. Ahead of him were three quarterbacks, all with at least two years of eligibility remaining and experience in the program. The order had been cast early.
Then redshirt freshman quarterback Jaxon Smolik sustained a "significant injury", head coach James Franklin said before the Blue-White Game in April, and would be out for a "period of time." That meant a new role for Grunkemeyer, the Ohio native who was the lone quarterback in Penn State's 2024 recruiting class.
Now, Grunkemeyer is Penn State's No. 3 quarterback as a true freshmen, just as Smolik was last season. It was an unexpected elevation but one Grunkemeyer embraced, his offensive coordinator said.
"His want to improve and be a dude is right where we want it to be," Penn State offensive coordinator Kotelnicki said.
Kotelnicki has been impressed so far with the varied skill sets in his quarterback room, which includes returning starter Drew Allar and classmate Beau Pribula. Kotelnicki has said that Allar carries an "insatiable hunger to learn" into the football building daily. He also called Pribula "another great weapon" for the Penn State offense.
But Grunkemeyer is the only Penn State quarterback who has worked solely with Kotelnicki as the offensive coordinator. As a result, Kotelnicki is better equipped to make before-and-after comparisons. And Grunkemeyer has made significant changes since arriving as an early enrollee in January, Kotelnicki said.
"From the moment got here to now, I'm not going to say it's night and day because that would be disrespectful to him and the training he did before, but it's significantly different," Kotelnicki said. "He's got 15 college practices under his belt now through the spring. He's got all the installations that we've done, all the things that we've done. He's got five months of training in a Division 1 program with [strength] coach [Chuck] Losey and his staff. Physically, he's changed."
Grunkemeyer, who arrived at Penn State weighing 200 pounds, is listed at 207 on the program's latest roster. He played in the Blue-White Game in April, completing four of his eight attempts. More importantly, Kotelnicki said, the quarterback moved smoothly through the freshman-year process off the field.
"Emotionally and mentally, you do a lot as well, we all know, right?" Kotelnicki said. "For those of us who went to college, I'm sure a lot of us did. Your first year, you grow up a lot, right? He went through that growth in football and life, so his understanding of the offense is fantastic. And his want to improve and be a dude is right where we want it to be."
Grunkemeyer arrived at Penn State in January after a recruiting arc rivaling that of of his teammate. Like Allar, Grunkemeyer initially was a 3-star prospect from Ohio who committed to Penn State early and climbed the rankings ladder. By the time he enrolled, Grunkemeyer was a 4-star quarterback, according to the 247Sports Composite, and a top-200 player nationally. He shined at the 2023 Elite 11 Finals, followed that with a strong senior season and developed a bond with Allar along the way. The two worked with Ohio quarterbacks coach Brad Maendler, conducting several throwing sessions together.
“[Grunkemeyer] came out his junior year and played really well and had some really big-time moments but still wasn't quite thick enough and big enough for big-time programs like Penn State and those guys to come in the door,” Olentangy High football coach Wade Bartholomew said last year. “Basically, he just grew up. … I think once they saw that he was going to have that frame to be able to play at the next level along with his arm talent, I think that's when things really started to take off for him. You put him in a gym, you put him on a field with nobody around and receivers running, like I said, I think he's one of the best throwers in the country.”
Penn State opens the 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.
MARK WOGENRICH
Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.
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