Ethan Grunkemeyer
| Virginia Tech Hokies | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Freshman |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 10, 2005[1] |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 203 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio) |
| College | Penn State (2024–2025) Virginia Tech (2026–present) |
| Stats at ESPN | |
Ethan McCabe Grunkemeyer (born July 10, 2005)[1] is an American college football quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies. He previously played for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
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 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
| 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 | 11 | 7 | 4–3 | 123 | 178 | 69.1 | 1,339 | 7.5 | 8 | 4 | 142.6 | 35 | -46 | -1.3 | 1 |
| Career | 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 124 | 180 | 68.9 | 1,348 | 7.5 | 8 | 5 | 140.9 | 35 | -46 | -1.3 | 1 | |
References
- ^ a b "Ethan Grunkemeyer - Scouting Ohio". scoutingohio.com. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b c d "Ethan Grunkemeyer". Penn State Nittany Lions.
- ^ Purpura, Dave (October 12, 2023). "Strive for perfection': Penn State getting meticulous QB in Olentangy's Ethan Grunkemeyer". The Commercial Dispatch.
- ^ a b "QB signee Ethan Grunkemeyer follows similar path to Penn State as Drew Allar". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. December 25, 2023 – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Bodani, Frank (December 19, 2024). "The new No. 2 Penn State football quarterback: What to know about Ethan Grunkemeyer". York Daily Record.
- ^ McGuire, Kevin (June 16, 2023). "Penn State commit Grunkemeyer was solid at Elite 11 finals". USA Today.
- ^ McGuire, Kevin (July 13, 2023). "Penn State QB commit receives invite to Under Armour All-American Game". USA Today.
- ^ Scarcella, Rich (December 31, 2024). "Grunkemeyer describes his first snaps as surreal". Citizens' Voice. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Rudel, Neil (December 31, 2024). "Ethan Grunkemeyer promoted to backup". Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
- ^ "Despite shaky debut vs. SMU, Penn State freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer 'handled it well'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. December 24, 2024.
- ^ McGonigal, Johnny (February 14, 2025). "What Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer learned from Drew Allar, CFP experience". PennLive.com – via archive.today.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Bodani, Frank (October 18, 2025). "5 things to know about Penn State football quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer". York Daily Record.
- ^ Smith, Mason (October 18, 2025). "Ethan Grunkemeyer delivers a mixed bag in first start for Penn State football". York Daily Record.