James Franklin says young Penn State quarterback has a “special future” ahead of him

In football, the focus is always on the quarterbacks, but that’s been amplified in Happy Valley this week after starting QB Drew Allar left Penn State’s Week 9 win over Wisconsin with a knee injury he suffered in the first. Backup Beau Pribula led the Nittany Lions on a second-half comeback with two touchdown drives and will be forced to start if Allar’s injury is too serious to play against No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday. If Pribula becomes the starter, that moves everybody up a rung on the depth chart, including true freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer. 

The 6-foot-2 former four-star from Olentangy High School outside Columbus is Penn State’s third-stringer and will likely see increased reps leading up to the meeting with his hometown team. It would be bad news if he’s called upon at any point against a team that James Franklin has beaten just once in 10 tries at Penn State, but the good news is that Franklin has been impressed by his progress this year. 

“Grunk’s improvement has been dramatic. I think he’s got a special future,” Franklin told reporters this week with a spotlight on the quarterback room and the preparation of both Pribula and Grunkemeyer. “I think watching what happened on Saturday, I think that double down and reinforces it to those guys, ‘hey, I better have my stuff together.’ But there’s only so many reps to go around.” 

It’s a difficult balance to bring along a young quarterback while attempting to prepare the starter and backup, but Franklin has been impressed with how quarterback coach Danny O’Brien has handled his talented position group. The head coach sees a bit of both of his current quarterbacks in the potential future of the position. 

“There’s a lot of excitement in our program about Grunk. He’s really kind of a nice blend of Drew and Beau in some ways, and he makes some throws that are really impressive.” 

Some Penn State fans are still not sold on Allar’s ability to take the team to a Big Ten title, so it’s far too early to peer into the future of the position, but if you take Franklin’s word for it, it’s bright. Grunkemeyer was a late-rising prospect who shot up into the top 10 of the 2024 QB class, and after redshirting this season, could be in the mix to start for the Nittany Lions once Allar heads for the NFL, either after this season or next. Though he came to Penn State in the same class, Pribula has an extra year of eligibility compared to Allar, but Grunkemeyer was the more impressive passer as a prospect and could have a chance to win the starting job in 2026 as a redshirt sophomore.