Why Penn State's Ethan Grunkemeyer Is Hungry to Play Ohio State

The Nittany Lions quarterback grew up near Columbus among Buckeyes fans. He has dreamed of playing at Ohio Stadium.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) throws a pass against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes fan less than 30 minutes from campus. His mother played basketball at Ohio State and co-founded a Columbus marketing firm with a former Ohio State football player. Grunkemeyer long has dreamed of playing at Ohio Stadium.

He'll get that chance Saturday, when the Nittany Lions visit top-ranked Ohio State for the BIG Noon game of the week. But it's certainly not the situation Grunkemeyer envisioned for his return to Columbus.

The Nittany Lions (3-4) are out of playoff contention, head coach James Franklin was fired and starting quarterback Drew Allar is out for the season with an injury. Still, Saturday means a lot to Grunkemeyer.

"Since I was a kid, I've dreamed about playing in that stadium," he said. "So it's going to be cool to go back home and be able to have the chance to do that."

Grunkemeyer, a redshirt freshman, will make his second career start Saturday, though it's one he couldn't possibly have expected. Grunkemeyer and fellow Ohio native Drew Allar were supposed to bring a title-contending offense to Columbus for the show-me game of the Nittany Lions' 2025 schedule.

Instead, Allar is beginning the rehab process from ankle surgery he had following Penn State's loss Oct. 11 loss to Northwestern. And Grunkemeyer has taken over an offense that ranks 110th nationally in passing.

Penn State also faces a delicate situation at quarterback behind Grunkemeyer, with injuries potentially affecting depth as well. So Penn State puts its offense in the hands of a quarterback who initially wanted to be a Buckeye.

Going home will be 'motivating'

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) reacts after a touchdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Grunkemeyer played quarterback at Olentangy High, located about 20 miles north of Ohio Stadium, where he threw for a school-record 8,401 yards and 80 touchdowns. He competed at the 2023 Elite 11 Finals with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and was recruited by a host of schools, including Virginia, Boston College and Clemson.

The spring of 2023 was hectic at Olentangy, head coach Wade Bartholomew said in a 2023 interview. Former Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich made the biggest impression, and Grunkemeyer made a late-night call to Franklin, Yurcich and Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien to tell them he was committing.

“It was like three-and-a-half weeks of just us constantly scheduling coaches coming in and here and there and everywhere. And he was trying to take this visit to Northwestern because they asked him to come or go to Penn State here,” Bartholomew said in 2023. “So I know when that three weeks was up and he finally committed to Penn State, he took a really deep breath and just kind of sat back and you know kind of took it all in. Because I know there for a while he was not able to really enjoy it. He was running around like crazy.”

But Ohio State wasn't among those schools. Grunkemeyer hails from an Ohio State family and culture. His mother, Megan McCabe, played basketball for the Buckeyes in the late 1990s and earned a Big Ten Scholar-Athlete Award. She co-founded m2 marketing in Columbus with former Ohio State football player Ryan Miller.

Grunkemeyer said he took several visits to Ohio State and developed a relationship with the coaching staff but didn't receive an offer. When he committed to Penn State in 2023, Grunkemeyer heard about it from friends and teammates who were Ohio State fans. That adds a layer to his return.

"Obviously I grew up 25 minutes down the road [from Ohio State] and always watched them on Saturdays," Grunkemeyer said. "I think that going back into that environment I grew up in is definitely motivating. But at the end of the day, football is football, and you've just got to go put the ball down and play."

What's next for Ethan Grunkemeyer?

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterbacks Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) and Drew Allar (15) share a moment together following the competition of the game against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Saturday was supposed to be Allar's return to Ohio State. The quarterback also is from Ohio (about two hours northeast in Medina) and looked forward to this game since a 2023 performance in which Allar said he "sucked."

Allar has been with the team this week. Terry Smith, Penn State's interim coach, said Allar stopped by his office Monday to ask how he could help. Grunkemeyer and Allar, who work with the same Ohio-based quarterbacks coach in Brad Maendler, developed a relationship during Grunkemeyer's recruiting process.

"He's been super helpful so far, just kind of talking about what they do on defense and what he sees. We've talked back and forth on that end," Grunkemeyer said of Allar. "And then just how to go into this week preparation-wise. [The Buckeyes] do a lot of different good stuff on defense, so from that aspect they're going to do a lot of different things, and how to be ready for it is the main thing this week."

Grunkemeyer went 15-for-28 for 93 yards and two interceptions in his first start at Iowa. Smith thought Grunkemeyer handled the Kinnick Stadium environment properly, organizing the offense and getting into plays without succumbing to the noise and crowd intimidation level.

The next step for Grunkemeyer, Smith said, is expanding on the pass game. Penn Sate averaged 3.3 yards per attempt at Iowa, and its longest completion was 14 yards. Grunkemeyer went 3-for-11 on attempts of 5+ yards.

"We've got to put him in position to succeed," Smith said. "We can't ask him to go out there and throw the ball 45 times and be effective and win that way. We've got to create in the run game and have some pass plays off the run game. We have to be able to give him some throws that are one- or two-read types of throws and not overcomplicate it for him."