Penn State QB commit has sensational performance in 2023 season opener

There still may be two weeks until the official start of college football season, but future Penn State football players are already in action with the start of high school games across the country this weekend. By far, the headliner for the Nittany Lions’ 2024 recruiting class in Friday night’s action was Ethan Grunkemeyer. After an impressive summer that saw the Olentangy (Ohio) prospect shoot up the recruiting rankings, the Penn State QB commit put on a stellar performance to lead his team to a Week 1 victory.

Penn State QB commit Ethan Grunkemeyer lights up 2023 season opener

Last night, 2024 four-star QB Ethan Grunkemeyer led his Olentangy Braves to a 46-35 win over Toledo Whitmer in Ohio high school football action. Grunkemeyer was the driving factor behind his team’s strong performance to start the year.

Nice way to start — first-play TD pass by #PennStateFootball commit @e_grunkemeyer to put @OHSBravesFB on the scoreboard#OHSFootball pic.twitter.com/pkCmKfZ6sF

— CFB Focus 🏈 (@cffmwachsman) August 19, 2023

The Penn State QB commit started the game hot, connecting on an 84-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage. Grunkemeyer added rushing and passing scores on back-to-back drives to close the second quarter. An unofficial tally by Dillion Davis of The Delaware Gazette had Grunkemeyer with 288 passing yards through the first half. Grunkemeyer finished the night with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score.

With 1 min left in the half, Braves go the length of the field and score with 0:04 left on a Grunk to Wiley TD. Grover had several big catches on the drive.

Braves 29 Whitmer 21

0:04 left in the half pic.twitter.com/uwRe5vOzGd

— Olentangy Braves FB (@OHSBravesFB) August 19, 2023

While understanding that improvements are still needed, Grunkemeyer deflected the praise after the game. “Overall, I thought it was a really good game by the whole offense,” Grunkemeyer told Davis following the victory. “I thought the offensive line did a great job. So, I’m really proud of those guys.”

Caught up with Olentangy QB Ethan Grunkemeyer following the Braves’ win over Whitmer.

‘Tangy head coach Wade Bartholomew mentioned Grunkemeyer was putting a lot of pressure on himself this summer. Here’s Grunkemeyer on how he dialed in tonight plus how his team can get better. pic.twitter.com/4tTt3CkYVQ

— Dillon Davis (@DillonDavis56) August 19, 2023

Rapid riser

If Week 1 was any indication, Ethan Grunkemeyer is ready to continue his rapid rise this fall after an extremely impressive summer. Standing out at Elite 11 camp, Grunkemeyer made a massive jump in the 2024 recruiting evaluations. The Penn State QB commit was first elevated to four-star status by 247Sports, climbing over 400 spots in the rankings.

Last month, Grunkemeyer jumped over 150 slots to get inside the On300 rankings for the first time during his recruitment. “Ethan Grunkemeyer proved he deserves to be considered one of the best quarterback prospects in the country,” On3 Scouting and Rankings Assistant Cody Bellaire wrote after the Penn State football commit received his boost. 

After a solid start to the 2023 season, Ethan Grunkemeyer may have nowhere to go but up.

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