How Penn State’s Ethan Grunkemeyer Is Approaching Year 2 at Quarterback

Growth in Year 1 behind Drew Allar

For the majority of the 2024 season, Grunkemeyer sought to learn as much as possible with little added pressure of potentially stepping onto the field. That changed when the CFP arrived, as Penn State needed a No. 2 quarterback. Still, Grunkemeyer recently said his first year at Penn State was “a huge learning experience.”

“A lot of ups and downs and learning life lessons,” Grunkemeyer said. “[I was] growing each week. Week 1 at West Virginia looked a lot different than whatever week that was versus Notre Dame.”

Grunkemeyer, the No. 7 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite, was thrown into the fire in December. Fortunately, Allar remained healthy through the Nittany Lions’ playoff run, but there were significant differences in preparation between a No. 2 and No. 3 quarterback. Now, Grunkemeyer has gotten a feel for being the top backup. Penn State’s 38-10 victory over SMU allowed him to step onto the field, although it didn’t go too smoothly. Grunkemeyer threw two passes, one of which was interceped.

“That was a great experience as well. You learn a lot from game live reps, things to do, things not to do,” Grunkemeyer said. “They’re really important for my growth as a football player and as a person.”

Waiting in the wings behind Allar, who finished 17th in the country in passing yards (3,327) in 2024, should also be beneficial for Grunkemeyer. The rising sophomore said he has a “good connection” with Allar, taking note of his focus and weekly preparation.

“Seeing how he deals with things, whether it’s not looking at social media, or just how he gets over things like that. … I thought it was super professional. And a young guy like me looking at that was cool to see how he dealt with it,” Grunkemeyer said. “He’s just a workaholic. That guy’s in the facility more than a lot of people other than some of the coaches maybe.”

Grunkemeyer will have more opportunities to learn from Allar over the next year, as the starter announced his return to Penn State before the CFP began. Grunkemeyer wants to absorb as much as he can from Allar while he’s still wearing blue and white.

“He’s a good mentor for me, answering questions — like, I got a list of things I still want to ask him. How he prepares or watches NFL games, NFL quarterbacks, is something I want to get better at,” Grunkemeyer said. “Little things like that, I think are going to be huge for me to learn from him this upcoming year.”

Building chemistry with Penn State’s new wide receivers

One thing’s certain about Penn State’s 2025 wide receiver room: It will look a lot different in 2025. Grunkemeyer won’t be the lead quarterback in charge of throwing to transfer additions Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross, but his connection with them still is critical.

“Kyron, he’s a bigger body wide receiver,” Grunkemeyer said. “He’s going to make a play on the ball for you. … And then Devonte, I mean, his speed and quickness reminds me a lot of, as an NFL [comparison], Tyreek Hill.”

Penn State coach James Franklin said recently that he’ll “have a better idea” of how his receivers room will look as the team moves through the winter and spring. No matter how things work out though, the Nittany Lions could use a step forward from some young receivers, like Tyseer Denmark — and not just to benefit the 2025 unit. As Penn State looks to get its receiving unit back to an elite level, chemistry between Grunkemeyer, the early favorite to be the 2026 starting quarterback, and players like Denmark could be key.

“We’ve got a ton of great work in with [the new wide receivers] already, and comfortability with them is huge at the pass-catching position,” Grunkemeyer said. “That trust factor is huge. So I feel really comfortable with that. I’m really excited about it, actually.”

Penn State’s 2025 passing game will feature veterans in Allar, Hudson and Ross. When the time comes to turn the page to a significant group of new offensive starters, Grunkemeyer and Denmark could emerge as the top quarterback and wide receiver of the Nittany Lions’ next era.

“[Denmark] holds himself to a high standard. When other people see you holding yourself to a higher standard, they want to follow that. And I think that’s been really good for the wide receivers, having a guy like that,” Grunkemeyer said. “I’m really excited about that [2024] receiving class moving forward.”