Penn State Football Position Previews: Quarterback

The 2024 football season is just around the corner for Penn State, 24 days exact, and with that Happy Valley Insider is set to begin our Penn State Football position previews starting with the Nittany Lions quarterback position.

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The Nittany Lions will return a trio of scholarship quarterbacks to the room in 2024 in starter Drew Allar, backup quarterback Beau Pribula, and rising redshirt freshman Jaxon Smolik. They also added a four-star quarterback prospect Ethan Grunkemeyer over the offseason.

Here's how the Nittany Lions quarterback room looks entering the fall and the projected depth chart.

PROJECTED STARTER(S)

The now junior quarterback out of Ohio is entering his second season as Penn State's starting quarterback. His first go-around as the program's signal-caller was, all things considered, a strong one. He completed 59.9% of his passes for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing just two interceptions.

That being said, against some of Penn State's better competition, Allar struggled completing 38-of-65 passing attempts, combining for 271 total yards and two touchdowns in games against Michigan and Ohio State. In 2024, Allar will absolutely need better performances in the Nittany Lions' bigger matchups.

Despite his struggles, Allar is still considered one of the better quarterbacks in the country and a potential high draft pick in next spring's NFL Draft. There is certainly high hope in the program and around the program that new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will be able to fully unlock Allar and the skill set that made him one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2022 recruiting cycle. time last season, playing in 11 of 13 games, completing 11-of-21 passing attempts for 149 yards and four touchdowns. He also has totaled 56 rushing attempts for 329 yards and six touchdowns.

PROJECTED BACKUP(S)

Pribula saw the field for the first time last season, playing in 11 of 13 games, completing 11-of-21 passing attempts for 149 yards and four touchdowns. He also has totaled 56 rushing attempts for 329 yards and six touchdowns.

Notably, when Pribula was on the field, the Nittany Lions offense was able to have success, the York, Pennsylvania natives dual-threat abilities bringing a different dynamic to the offense compared to that of Drew Allar, a more traditional, pro-style, pocket-passer quarterback. In 2024, it's expected that Pribula will have a role in the Nittany Lions' offense in 2024 though how Andy Kotelnicki will use the Nittany Lions' backup quarterback exactly is still up to the imagination.

DEPTH PIECES

Grunkemeyer is set to be the program's No. 3 quarterback entering the fall as Jaxon Smolik is currently out with an injury that will carry into the regular season. There is a ton of excitement about Grunkemeyer's potential future with the Nittany Lions but this fall, Grunkemeyer will be third in line at the quarterback spot. Following the 2024 season, Grunkemeyer will be in the conversation to be the Nittany Lions starting quarterback in 2025. This fall will be a big one for the Ohio native's development.

Smolik impressed Penn State's coaching staff in his first year on campus, unfortunately, the Iowa native suffered an injury this offseason. That injury is expected to cause the former three-star prospect to miss some time in the regular season though Penn State head coach James Franklin has said recently that the Nittany Lions expect Smolik back this fall.