Ethan Grunkemeyer
| 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) |
| Coaching profile at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Stats at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
Ethan McCabe Grunkemeyer (born July 10, 2005)[1] is an American college football quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Early life
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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]
Statistics
[edit | edit source]| 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 | 8 | 4 | 1–3 | 72 | 111 | 64.9 | 689 | 6.2 | 4 | 4 | 121.7 | 26 | -26 | -1.0 | 1 |
| Career | 9 | 4 | 1–3 | 73 | 113 | 64.6 | 698 | 6.2 | 4 | 5 | 119.3 | 26 | -26 | -1.0 | 1 | |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).