Ethan Grunkemeyer made the first two starts of his college career on the road against two of the top defenses in the country in Ohio State and Iowa.
It doesn’t get any easier for him this week as Penn State prepares to face second-ranked Indiana Saturday at noon (TV-FOX) at Beaver Stadium.
The Hoosiers (6-0 Big Ten, 9-0) rank third in scoring defense, seventh in total defense and ninth in pass efficiency defense.
It’s hard to imagine any other college quarterback facing a more daunting task in his first three starts.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Grunkemeyer said when asked if playing against the Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes gave him more confidence. “It’s definitely something I don’t take lightly, to have this opportunity early in my career.
“I’ve been able to go against the two of the top defenses in the country these past two games. There have been opportunities. We have made plays and there are more plays to be made. It’s exciting for me to be able to see that.”
Grunkemeyer has completed 42-of-67 passes (62.7%) for 343 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions this season. He’s played with poise in the pocket and has had few communication problems.
Penn State (0-5, 3-5) hasn’t had a false start penalty in his two starts.
“For a redshirt freshman making his first two starts on the road against two of the better defenses in the country, there are a lot of really good things to build on,” Nittany Lions quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien said Thursday. “Certainly there are things to work on, but he’s very talented.
“There have been no mental errors. He’s been super impressive. He expects to play well. He’s a talented kid with a bright future, for sure.”
Grunkemeyer, a former four-star prospect from Ohio, replaced Drew Allar as the starter after Allar suffered a season-ending leg injury four weeks ago against Northwestern and underwent surgery.
Allar, a three-year starter, has returned to Penn State and has been mentoring Grunkemeyer and the other quarterbacks.
“I think it’s been a win-win having Drew back,” O’Brien said. “He and Grunk are going to watch a game together this afternoon. Just to have a veteran guy to help guide Grunk through his first month of being the guy is invaluable.
“For Drew, being back around the guys is a plus. The biggest battle of any major injury is mental. To be around the guys, to be involved and to add value has been good for his spirits. It’s been really good for him.”
Jaxon Smolik, a redshirt sophomore, was injured at Iowa and did not make the trip to Ohio State last week. Wide receiver Liam Clifford received reps at quarterback Wednesday with freshman Bekkam Kritza out with an illness.
“Liam’s a super high IQ kid,” O’Brien said. “He’s spending a good bit of time with us. He can do a lot. You saw him take snaps and play receiver at Columbus.
“We’re very fortunate to have him on our team because of the injuries we’ve had and the room being a little bit short. He’s able to do a lot mentally.”
Clifford took a few snaps at Ohio State, where Grunkemeyer completed 19-of-28 passes for 145 yards with two interceptions and was sacked four times. He missed a couple open receivers against the nation’s No. 1 defense.
“He did a really good job of having his eyes in the right spot against Ohio State,” O’Brien said. “Did he miss a couple throws? Sure, let’s go work on that this week. But his eyes were in the right spot every time in the dropback game. That’s growth.
“We had no pre-snap penalties at Iowa and at Ohio State, where that’s not the case for most teams. We navigated the pocket really well.”
Grunkemeyer’s experience in those two hostile environments was useful. He wants to continue to improve in the final four games of the regular season.
“I think I can make another big jump from game two to game three because of that game experience,” he said. “You can’t get anything like that in practice. Those game reps are super important. The more reps I get, the more comfortable and confident I’m going to be.”
