There’s little question as to who will be taking the starting snaps for Penn State football at quarterback when the Nittany Lions open the season against Nevada at the end of the month. But behind Drew Allar, the competition to be QB No. 2 is anything but decided.
Throughout training camp, Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jaxon Smolik will each try to earn the Nittany Lions’ backup role for this year. A battle that was hotly contested, and ultimately undecided, during the spring, the Penn State coaching staff is willing to let the competition run into the fall if needed.
“That one in the spring was really tightly contested,” James Franklin said during the Nittany Lions’ annual media day. “I thought Jaxon would be rusty coming back, but he wasn’t. He had a great spring. This thing is, I think, going to go right down to the wire. Depending, if it finishes up like it did in the spring, it could continue throughout the entire year.
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“If there’s a gap, there’s a gap. If it’s close, I think the competition could go throughout the year; whoever has the best week that week is going to be the backup quarterback type of deal, just based on how close it was this spring.”
With Smolik sidelined due to an injury last fall, Grunkemeyer assumed the backup duties for the Nittany Lions’ postseason run once Beau Pribula entered the transfer portal. His two passing attempts against SMU in the College Football Playoff are the only in-game reps either quarterback has in a Penn State uniform.
Beyond the battle that will ensue over the next 3.5 weeks, non-conference play will be a critical formation period for both Grunkemeyer and Smolik. The three early-season tune-up matchups before the start of the Big Ten schedule at the end of September will serve as prime opportunity for the young quarterbacks to get valuable playing time. Allar has been knocked out of two games during his first two seasons as Penn State’s starter, forcing Pribula to come in and finish the contests under center.
Penn State’s backup battle has downstream consequences for 2026
Long term, August’s competition between Smolik and Grunkemeyer impacts much more than this fall. With Allar off to the NFL after this season, whoever wins the backup race will have a leg-up when the battle for the open starting role kicks off next spring.
“Again, it could be there’s a gap by one of them and it’s clear who the number two quarterback is, or this will go through the season,” Franklin said. “To be honest with you, if it’s close all season, it could go into next year in terms of how this thing plays out. They have both made it interesting. They both have traits that you get excited about. It will be a really important competition. I would say that, across the board, the twos and the threes, you guys don’t love talking about that a whole lot, but it’s going to be critical to our season.”
We’ll get our next look at the Nittany Lions on Thursday evening as Penn State heads into the second full week of training camp.
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