James Franklin revealed Wednesday night how thin the Penn State quarterback position has become since Beau Pribula’s decision to transfer earlier this week.
Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Allar during the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff run, which begins against SMU Saturday at noon (TV-TNT) at Beaver Stadium.
Redshirt freshman Jaxon Smolik is the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster, but he hasn’t received medical clearance to play in a game after suffering a long-term injury earlier this year.
Neither one has taken a snap in college.
Franklin, the Penn State coach, was asked who would be the No. 3 quarterback for the SMU game.
“We don’t have a third option right now,” he said.
The 6-2, 207-pound Grunkemeyer was considered a four-star prospect during his recruitment and enrolled in January. He starred at Oletangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, and has the same personal quarterback coach, Brad Maendler, as Allar.
“Ethan will be the backup in the game,” Franklin said. “Grunk’s done a really good job and put himself in a position in which we have a lot of confidence. He’s getting a ton of reps this week.”
Grunkemeyer passed for 8,401 yards and 80 touchdowns in high school, including 3,517 yards and 39 TDs as a senior when he led his team to an 11-2 record.
“His confidence is superb,” center Nick Dawkins said. “He’s ready to command the huddle. When you first come in as a freshman, you’re still questioning yourself a little bit on some plays and making sure you’re saying the right thing. But right now the way he speaks with conviction is a testament to his growth.
“He plays football naturally. He’s going to be a great guy here.”
Reed’s OK: Penn State safety Jaylen Reed is “safe and healthy” after he posted photos of his car, which had damage from an accident last week.
Reed was at practice Wednesday night and is “full go and (has) no issues,” Franklin said when asked about the photos.
“Well, what I would first like is for us not to share all of our business on social media, so that this isn’t even a discussion,” Franklin said. “But at the end of the day, I’m glad J-Reed is safe and healthy.
“I look at all these guys like they’re my sons. I have a very close relationship with J-Reed and his mom, so the most important thing is that he’s healthy. And I don’t mean just for football.”
Reed, a senior safety, leads Penn State with 79 tackles and three interceptions. He has 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and one quarterback hurry.
Transfer lift: Starting cornerbacks A.J. Harris and Jalen Kimber have been productive in their first season at Penn State after transferring from Southeastern Conference schools.
Harris, who played last year at Georgia, has 39 tackles, four pass breakups and one interception. He was named to the All-Big Ten third team.
“He has a tremendous amount of talent,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “He probably played his best game of the season against Oregon. He has toughness. He has athleticism. He can cover. He can do a lot of things that we want our guys to do.”
Kimber, who played the last two seasons at Florida, has 25 tackles and three pass breakups. He received All-Big Ten honorable mention.
“Jalen Kimber doesn’t get fazed,” Allen said. “He’s experienced. He’s been a tremendous young man in our program. He’s so consistent in his approach to practice. His play has been that way as well.
“They’ve been two tremendous additions to our program. To hit on those two guys in the secondary has been really big for us.”
