| No. 17 – Penn State Nittany Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 10, 2005 [1] |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio) |
| College | Penn State (2024–present) |
| Stats at ESPN | |
Ethan McCabe Grunkemeyer (born July 10, 2005) [1] is an American college football quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Grunkemeyer grew up in Lewis Center, Ohio, and started playing several sports from a young age, including flag football starting at three. [2] He attended Olentangy High School where he played football and basketball, being a quarterback in football. [3] He was backup quarterback as a freshman and then became starter as a sophomore in 2021, throwing for 2,152 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. [4] He then threw for 2,649 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. [5]
In his senior year, Grunkemeyer helped Olentangy compile a record of 11–2 while throwing for 3,517 yards and 39 touchdowns, being chosen first-team all-state. [5] [6] He was also named first-team all-conference, first-team all-district, the conference co-offensive player of the year and the county offensive player of the year. [3] Grunkemeyer was invited to the Elite 11 finals and the Under Armour All-America Game. [7] [8] He finished as the Olentangy career record-holder for both passing yards and passing touchdowns, while he also set single-season records at Olentangy in those categories. [9]
Grunkemeyer was initially lightly recruited, having no offers as he started his junior year and only one (Miami of Ohio) by the end of it. [2] However, interest surged over the summer of his senior year and he began receiving offers from many major programs. [2] He rose from being a three-star recruit to a four-star recruit and finished his tenure at Olentangy being ranked the 85th-best player nationally and the fifth-best quarterback by ESPN. [10] [3] He committed to play college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. [2]
Grunkemeyer entered his true freshman season at Penn State as the third-string quarterback, behind Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, and redshirted. [3] [11] In December, after Pribula entered the transfer portal, Grunkemeyer was promoted to being Allar's backup. [12] He made his debut in the team's first round playoff game against the SMU Mustangs, completing one of two pass attempts for nine yards with an interception. [13] He entered the 2025 season as backup to Allar. [14] After Allar was injured during the season, Grunkemeyer became the new starter in his place. [15] In his first start, he threw for 93 yards and two interceptions in a 25–24 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. [16]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2024 | Penn State | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | -12.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Penn State | 6 | 2 | 0–2 | 42 | 67 | 62.7 | 343 | 5.1 | 1 | 3 | 101.7 | 14 | -30 | -2.1 | 1 |
| Career | 7 | 2 | 0–2 | 43 | 69 | 62.3 | 352 | 5.1 | 1 | 4 | 98.4 | 14 | -30 | -2.1 | 1 | |
