College football officially returns this month and the countdown to Penn State's season opener at West Virginia is down to just 17 days.
Moving into today's spot on the countdown is Penn State true freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, a four-star linebacker out of Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio.
JOIN TODAY AND GET 30 DAYS FREE! | THE LIONS DEN FORUM | PENN STATE FOOTBALL 2025 RECRUITING CLASS | PENN STATE BASKETBALL RECRUITING
The recruitment
In some ways it's a lazy comparison to make as they are both quarterbacks from Ohio, but the recruitments of Grunkemeyer and Drew Allar were very similar. Both started as lightly recruited quarterbacks who Penn State identified and offered early leading to an early commitment to the Nittany Lions.
Like Allar, Grunkemeyer would spend the summer before his senior season of high school rising prospect rankings. Grunkemeyer impressed at The Elite 11 before going on to have a huge senior season. By the time he signed with the Nittany Lions, Grunkemeyer was a consensus four-star prospect and one of the top quarterback's in his class.
Looking ahead
Allar will be the guy at quarterback for Penn State this fall with Beau Pribula as QB2, That said, Grunkemeyer should be a solid quarterback number three for the Nittany Lions this fall.
Grunkemeyer has the highest ceiling of any QB on the roster other than Allar. Grunkemeyer has a big arm and good arm presence and could see plenty of mop-up time duty for Penn State this fall.
While Grunkemeyer may be the future quarterback for Penn State, he is unlikely to see the field outside of mop-up duty this fall. Whenever Allar moves on to the NFL, Grunkemeyer will compete to become the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions. While Grunkemeyer has the tools to be an all-conference performer in the future, for now, he will bide his time backing up Allar and Pribula while working to master Andy Kotelnicki's playbook.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
