Penn State is having an unexpectedly poor season in 2025. Although the Nittany Lions entered as a playoff favorite, Penn State is 3-4 and fired head coach James Franklin midway through the season.
To make matters worse, the team’s star quarterback, Drew Allar, suffered a season-ending injury on Oct. 11. Since then, the offense has been led by Allar’s backup, Ethan Grunkemeyer. Grunkemeyer has been at Penn State since 2024 and is a redshirt sophomore.
Entering Penn State’s game on the road against Ohio State, the Nittany Lions are 20.5-point underdogs. Let’s learn a little more about Penn State’s quarterback, who will be playing Ohio State for the first time ahead of the rivalry matchup.
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Who is Ethan Grunkemeyer?
Grunkemeyer is a redshirt freshman at Penn State. He was part of Penn State's 2024 recruiting class, which finished ranked 14th in the country. Last season, he backed up Allar and saw action in just one game, against SMU in the College Football Playoff. He completed one of his two passes, the other of which was intercepted.
He made his debut as Penn State's starter on Oct. 18 against Iowa. His outing wasn't great—he finished 15-of-28 passing for 93 yards with zero interceptions.
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Where is Ethan Grunkemeyer from?
Grunkemeyer will have plenty of familiarity with Ohio State and the Buckeyes' stadium. The quarterback is from Lewis Center, Ohio, which is coincidentally a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. In fact, Grunkemeyer grew up a Buckeye fan.
“Since I was a kid, I dreamed about playing in that stadium, so it's gonna be cool to go back home and be able to have the chance to do that,” Grunkemeyer said earlier this week. “Obviously everyone around where I'm from is a Buckeye fan. Coming here, I've obviously grown to be a huge Penn State fan, so going back will be super fun. I always watched the Penn State/Ohio State games, and I think that just is a dream come true, being able to play in it.”
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Ethan Grunkemeyer high school stats
In high school, he threw for 6,036 yards and 64 touchdowns with 17 interceptions over two seasons per Max Preps. According to his PSU bio, Grunkemeyer holds school records for career passing yards (8,401), career passing touchdowns (80), passing yards in a season (3,517) and passing touchdowns in a season (39) at his alma mater, Olentangy High School.
Olentangy High School has produced a number of former NFL players, such as defensive end Kenny Anunike, offensive lineman Zac Kerin, linebacker Joshua Perry and cornerback Jarren Williams.
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Ethan Grunkemeyer recruiting
Grunkemeyer was a highly-rated signal-caller out of high school. A 4-star prospect from Lewis Center, Ohio, Grunkemeyer was the No. 7 overall quarterback prospect in the class of 2024, per the 247Sports Composite.
“We recruited Ethan because we’ve seen over time that he’s got a chance to be a really talented player in the Big Ten and nationally,” former Penn State head coach James Franklin said of Grunkemeyer in Dec. 2023. “He’s proved that, over his entire career, and really over the last probably year and a half, he has really taken it to a different level.
“His high school and his high school coach did a phenomenal job with him,” he continued. “His QB trainer [Brad Maendler], as you know now, we’ve got history with him. He’s done a great job with him as well. His family has done a great job. This kid is wired right. He’s been raised right. Discipline and structure at his high school. Discipline and structure in his home.”
Grunkemeyer did not receive an offer from Ohio State, but Buckeye head coach Ryan Day has plenty of familiarity with the Lewis Center product.
“I think he's a very talented young man,” Day said of Grunkemeyer. “Anybody you speak to up in the Olentangy High School or in the area growing up, he's got a great family. He's a great leader. And a very intelligent, competitive player that has a bright future in the game."
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Penn State QB depth chart without Drew Allar
Here's a look at Penn State's depth chart behind Grunkemeyer.
| QB | Player | Class |
| No. 1 | Ethan Grunkemeyer | Redshirt Freshman |
| No. 2 | Jaxon Smolik | Redshirt Sophomore |
| No. 3 | Jack Labmert | Redshirt Sophomore |