Drew Allar isn’t the only quarterback that Penn State has lost to injury. Third-stringer Jaxon Smolik was injured in the Nittany Lions’ Week 8 loss to Iowa. On Monday, heading into Penn State’s Week 10 matchup with Ohio State, interim head coach Terry Smith implied that there has been no update for Smolik.
If Smolik remains out against the Buckeyes, then the Nittany Lions will be facing off against the best defense in the country with a redshirt freshman quarterback in Ethan Grunkemeyer and a true freshman, Bekkem Kritza, just one snap away from entering the game. That’s a potentially disastrous scenario for a team that can’t quite sink much lower than an 0-4 start to Big Ten play.
Penn State interim HC Terry Smith said there’s no update on backup QB Jaxon Smolik’s injury.
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) October 27, 2025
Implied that true freshman Bekkem Kritza would be QB2 if Smolik can’t go against Ohio State.
Also said DE Zuriah Fisher is expected to play this week.
True freshman Bekkem Kritza set to be QB2 behind Ethan Grunkemeyer
Kritza has yet to play a snap in his short-lived career after enrolling at Penn State last winter. The three-star recruit was the 51st-ranked QB in the 2025 class and 795th overall recruit in the country. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound passer out of Chaminade-Madonna in Florida is viewed as a long-term project, not a Day 1 starter, but he could find his way onto the field down the stretch.
Kritza’s emergence to QB2 highlights Penn State’s fragile situation in the QB room. After losing Beau Pribula to Missouri in the transfer portal last winter, James Franklin elevated then true freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer to QB2, where he started the year in 2025. Smolik, a redshirt sophomore and former three-star recruit also spent the entire 2024 season dealing with an injury.
Yet, with Pribula gone and Smolik’s future unclear, Penn State took just on QB in the 2025 recruiting class, Kritza. The Nittany Lions had pushed for Maryland commit Malik Washington, who has been impressive as the starter in College Park, but couldn’t sway him from the Terrapins.
Now, any program that gets down to its third string quarterback is in trouble either way, but Penn State did not have nearly enough depth at the position this season, and adding more, either through high school recruiting or the transfer portal will be important for Franklin’s replacement.
Penn State desperately needs to add more talent at QB, especially with four-star 2026 QB Troy Huhn’s de-commitment following Franklin’s dismissal. At one point, Penn State had two four-star commits in the 2026 class, Huhn and Peyton Falzone, but Falzone has since flipped to Auburn, and Huhn remains uncommitted.