Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer grew up loving Ohio State.
A native of Olentangy, Ohio– which is less than a half hour away from Columbus–it was easy for Grunkemeyer to root for the Buckeyes based on geography.
It also didn’t hurt that Ohio State was good– if not great– for almost all of Grunkemeyer’s life through high school.
But for high school football players who are good enough to play at the highest level of the college game, lifelong fandoms can be hard to attain.
Grunkemeyer visited Ohio State and got to know some of the coaches, but Ryan Day and OSU never offered him.
James Franklin and Penn State did, and as a result, Grunkemeyer will be starting against his hometown team Saturday in Columbus.
“Definitely a dream to play there,” Grunkemeyer told reporters via Zoom Tuesday morning. “I think growing up, everybody around where I’m from is a Buckeye fan. So I think that coming here, I’ve obviously grown to be a huge Penn State fan. So, going back will be super fun to kind of go back. I always watched the Penn State-Ohio State games, and I think that just is kind of a dream come true being able to play in it.”
Grunkemeyer was in Ohio Stadium for a game Penn State fans would like to forget.
A young “Grunk” watched from the stands as Penn State had a signature win seemingly locked down, then coughed up a 15-point fourth-quarter lead.
Six years later, Grunkemeyer committed to Penn State and started his college career as the third-string quarterback in 2023.
By the end of his true freshman season, Grunkemeyer was Drew Allar’s backup. After winning the QB2 battle over Jaxon Smolik this past summer, Grunkemeyer spent the first six games of the season backing up Allar.
Then, late in the team’s game against Northwestern, Allar suffered a season-ending injury.
Now, Grunkemyer is QB1, and he must treat this game like any other despite the circumstances.
“The prep’s not going to be any different,” he said.
“I think that just going back to that environment that I grew up in is definitely motivating,” he said, “but I say at the end of the day, football is football. Just have to go put the ball down and play.”
So what’s the next step for Grunkemeyer?
For interim coach Terry Smith, it’s putting him “in position to succeed.
“We can’t ask him to go out there and throw the ball 45 times and be effective and win that way,” Smith said at his weekly presser Monday. “We’ve got to create the run game and have some pass plays of the run game.
We have to be able to give him some throws that are — some one- or two-read type throws, and not overcomplicate it for him.”
A big reason Ohio State is the No. 1 team is that it has the No. 1 defense.
Matt Patrica’s unit is giving up less than six points a game.
Penn State takes on No. 1 Ohio State at noon on Fox Saturday in Columbus.
