Ethan Grunkemeyer

Last updated
Ethan Grunkemeyer
Penn State Nittany LionsNo. 17
Position Quarterback
Class
Redshirt Redshirt.svg
Redshirt
Freshman
Personal information
Born: (2005-07-10) July 10, 2005 (age 20) [1]
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight203 lb (92 kg)
Career history
College Penn State (2024–present)
High school Olentangy
(Lewis Center, Ohio)

Ethan McCabe Grunkemeyer (born July 10, 2005) [1] is an American football quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Contents

Early life

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]

College career

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 is set to be Penn State's backup in 2025 under Allar. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ethan Grunkemeyer - Scouting Ohio". scoutingohio.com. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Snyder, Audrey (December 20, 2023). "Ethan Grunkemeyer's path to Penn State football: How the blue-chip QB earned his accolades". The Athletic via archive.today.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Ethan Grunkemeyer". Penn State Nittany Lions.
  4. Purpura, Dave (October 12, 2023). "Strive for perfection': Penn State getting meticulous QB in Olentangy's Ethan Grunkemeyer". The Commercial Dispatch .
  5. 1 2 "QB signee Ethan Grunkemeyer follows similar path to Penn State as Drew Allar". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . December 25, 2023 via archive.today.
  6. Bodani, Frank (December 19, 2024). "The new No. 2 Penn State football quarterback: What to know about Ethan Grunkemeyer". York Daily Record .
  7. McGuire, Kevin (June 16, 2023). "Penn State commit Grunkemeyer was solid at Elite 11 finals". USA Today .
  8. McGuire, Kevin (July 13, 2023). "Penn State QB commit receives invite to Under Armour All-American Game". USA Today .
  9. Scarcella, Rich (December 31, 2024). "Grunkemeyer describes his first snaps as surreal". Citizens' Voice . p. B4 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. Sauber, Jon (October 19, 2023). "4-star QB Ethan Grunkemeyer's Penn State career begins soon. He already has the 1-0 mentality". Centre Daily Times via archive.today.
  11. Ralph, Max (December 17, 2024). "'One of the highest ceilings I've seen:' What Penn State has in freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, likely the new No. 2". PennLive.com via archive.today.
  12. Rudel, Neil (December 31, 2024). "Ethan Grunkemeyer promoted to backup". Williamsport Sun-Gazette .
  13. "Despite shaky debut vs. SMU, Penn State freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer 'handled it well'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . December 24, 2024.
  14. McGonigal, Johnny (February 14, 2025). "What Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer learned from Drew Allar, CFP experience". PennLive.com via archive.today.