During the spring, Penn State redshirt freshman Jaxon Smolik suffered a 'long-term' injury that was expected to keep him out for the foreseeable future.
Through the early weeks of the season, Grunkemeyer has continued to work his way back from injury, partking in limited parts of the Nittany Lions' practices and pregame warmups.
On Wednesday, during his weekly post-practice media availability, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin provided an update on the Iowa native.
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"So Jaxon is able to do, only what have you seen so far," Franklin told the media. "He's been cleared to throw pat-and-go in pregame, that's just kind of where he's at."
The former three-star quarterback out of West Des Moines, Iowa appeared in one game last season as a true freshman against Delaware. He did not atempt any passing attempts in the matchup.
Entering the spring, he was pereceived to be the Nittany Lions No. 3 quarterback behind starter Drew Allar and backup Beau Pribula. With the injury, however, Smolik was jumped by true freshman and former four-star quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who in his early time with the program has been impressive.
"Grunk has done some really nice things. Obviously he's been able to get a ton of reps, kind of like what Jaxon was able to get last year and done a really nice job with it."
The Nittany Lions have not played Grunkemeyer in a game yet this seasona and with non-conference play now over, the opportunities for the true freshman to make his collegiate debut this fall will be limited.
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