Penn State football coach James Franklin said after practice Wednesday night that Ethan Grunkemeyer will begin the season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Allar.

Franklin emphasized that the decision to choose Grunkemeyer over Jaxon Smolik is only for Saturday’s opener against Nevada at 3:30 (TV-CBS) at  Beaver Stadium.

“He (Grunkemeyer) was just a little bit more consistent from the beginning of camp to the end,” he said. “I say it’s only for Week One because it was close. We’re excited about both of those guys. Both of those guys have shown some flashes.”

The 6-2, 212-pound Grunkemeyer, a redshirt freshman, played in one game last season against SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff and completed 1-of-2 passes for 9 yards. He’s a former four-star prospect from Lewis Center, Ohio.

The 6-1, 213-pound Smolik, a redshirt sophomore, missed last season because of an injury after he played in one game two years ago without attempting a pass. He’s a former three-star prospect from Van Meter, Iowa.

“The Sunday practices where those guys play,” Franklin said, “they’re going to be important in continuing to evaluate them as the season goes on.”

Both quarterbacks could see action behind Allar against Nevada, a 44-point underdog.

Williams update: Offensive lineman J’ven Williams, a former Wyomissing star, has been slowed by an injury, Franklin said.

The 6-5, 316-pound Williams was seen during a practice in early August with a wrap around his left hand and wrist.

“J’ven has had a little bit of an injury that has limited his ability to practice full throttle,” Franklin said. “His practice modifications just changed. That’s impacted him as much as anything or he’d be right there in the heat of it. I’m hoping he’ll be a guy that we’re talking more about (as the season goes on).”

Williams received the bulk of work at right tackle during spring practice because Nolan Rucci and Anthony Donkoh were out with injuries. He also has received many repetitions at guard.

In other offensive line news, Donkoh and Rucci will both start Saturday on the right side of the line, Donkoh at guard and Rucci at tackle. They’ll join left tackle Drew Shelton, left guard Vega Ioane and center Nick Dawkins.

Donkoh began last season as the starting right tackle and suffered an upper-body injury in midseason, which eventually sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Rucci, a high school star at Warwick, made six starts in his place and was very effective.

“We wanted to get our best five (linemen) on the field,” Franklin said. “It had as much to do with right guard as it did with right tackle. If Donkoh wouldn’t have been the best option at right guard, then it would have been a true competition we can win with.”

Franklin has said that the coaches also consider highly regarded sophomore Cooper Cousins and Texas AM transfer T.J. Shanahan as starters. They both play guard and center. Williams is expected to eventually be in that rotation, probably at tackle.

Cloudy picture: Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are cemented as Penn State’s top two running backs, but the picture behind them is cloudy.

Redshirt sophomore Cam Wallace and redshirt freshmen Quinton Martin Jr. and Corey Smith are vying to be the No. 3 back. None of them has emerged yet for various reasons.

“We’re still going to discuss that,” Franklin said. “We’ve had injuries and inconsistency, so I’m not sure how that will play out. This week will play a big part in that. If I had to guess, if they have the opportunity, you’re going to see all three of them play.”

https://www.mcall.com/2025/08/28/penn-state-notebook-franklin-picks-grunkemeyer-as-no-2-quarterback/