Penn State football: True freshman QB ‘flashing’ in first spring, says James Franklin

It may only be the midway point of his first semester in Happy Valley, but true freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is already starting to turn heads around the Lasch Building. On Tuesday, Penn State football coach James Franklin was the latest to take note of the young quarterback’s early progress in his first offseason as a Nittany Lion.

James Franklin: Ethan Grunkemeyer “flashing” in first spring at Penn State

Few prospects had as meteoric of a rise in the 2024 recruiting cycle as Olentangy (Ohio) quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. A three-star prospect when he committed to Penn State football last year, Grunkemeyer ascended roughly 800 spots in the recruiting rankings and bordered on being a top 100 recruit nationally come to National Signing Day.

One of the Nittany Lions’ sixteen early enrollees this winter, it appears that the freshman quarterback hasn’t stopped his climb. Speaking to the media following practice on Tuesday, James Franklin expressed excitement at what Ethan Grunkemeyer has shown in his first spring on campus, and is looking forward to his progress come fall camp.

“Grunkemeyer is really flashing and doing some nice things right now as a true freshman quarterback,” Franklin said of the young Nittany Lion, who threw for over 3,500 yards and 39 touchdowns as a high school senior. “What I’m most excited about is he showing flashes right now; how is he going to be in the summer, when he’s had really kind of all spring and all early summer to grind on the playbook, grind on the installs? Watch a ton of Kansas tape. Watch a ton of Penn State tape. Where will those guys be?”

What’s the plan for the true freshman quarterback?

Looking ahead to this fall, it’s almost a certainty that Ethan Grunkemeyer will not unseat Drew Allar as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback. While James Franklin and the Penn State football coaching staff are pushing Grunkemeyer to compete this spring, they recognize the value that waiting in the wings can have, as well.

“I think there’s a reason why Drew threw 23 touchdown passes and one interception [last season]…I think being able to sit behind Sean [Clifford] and learn behind Sean was valuable,” Franklin said when discussing Grunkemeyer’s future on National Signing Day. “So, I think, more times than not, there’s a ton of value in that [sitting a year]. 

“Now, does that mean that he won’t have a chance to come in and compete? No. We want him to come in and compete. We want all of our guys to come in and compete. But, worst-case scenario, if he doesn’t, if he can sit behind and learn for a year and then be competing for that following spring, then that’s not all bad, either.”

Penn State football will take the field for the annual Blue-White Game on April 13.

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