Penn State fans have made Matt Campbell’s mind up for him at QB after Pinstripe Bowl

Matt Campbell hasn’t quite put the finishing touches on his coaching staff for the 2026 Penn State season, but with the transfer portal set to open on January 2, his attention has to quickly turn to building out his roster. 

One of the biggest decisions he and general manager Derek Hoodjer will have to make is who will be next season’s starting quarterback, but after a 22-10 Pinstripe Bowl victory under interim head coach Terry Smith, Nittany Lions fans seem to have made up their minds. 

Penn State fans push for Ethan Grunkemeyer over Rocco Becht

Redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer took over at quarterback for the final six games of the regular season after senior Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury. Grunkemeyer, along with Smith, who also took over in Week 8 at Iowa, closed the season on a four-game win-streak after losing their first three, including losses to Ohio State and Indiana, the top two seeds in the College Football Playoff. 

Grunkemeyer submitted arguably his best performance of the year on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, going 11-for-13 for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the second half and finishing with a career-high 262 passing yards. Though it came against a skeleton crew of a Clemson defense, Penn State fans are sold on his potential. 

While he’s impressed in his first season of meaningful action, after attempting just two passes in 2024, the former four-star recruit is not a sure thing to return as Penn State’s starting QB. Campbell’s three-year starting QB from Iowa State, Rocco Becht, has entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. 

Becht has, obviously, been connected with his former head coach and former offensive coordinator, Taylor Mouser, but many Penn State fans aren’t interested in bringing him to Happy Valley after Grunkemeyer’s stellar display. Grunkemeyer has three seasons of eligibility remaining and could potentially be a long-term answer at QB for the Nittany Lions.

Heading into the Pinstripe Bowl, it seemed as though there was an outside possibility that Campbell could bring Becht to Penn State for one season and keep Grunkemeyer to hand him the reins back in 2027. However, with Grunkemeyer's strong close to the season, that has gone from a longshot to a near impossibility.