Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemyer plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the news. The Ohio native, who started the final seven games of the 2025 season after senior Drew Allar broke his ankle in mid-October, could still choose to return to school. But, he is also willing to test the waters and see what other opportunities might be out there as new coach Matt Campbell works to build out his roster.
“Well, the great thing is we get to meet with Ethan here this week,” Campbell said on The Josh Pate College Football Show last week. “And you know, we actually recruited him out of high school, and have got a really strong relationship from that beginning process. I think globally, you’ve got to look at our program, and the quarterback piece of it’s critical. Because I still think whoever is going to be the quarterbacks in our program, they have to be aligned to the head football coach. And I believe when the quarterback and the head football coach are aligned in their values, how they’re going to lead the locker room, what they’re going to stand for, then I think great things can happen.
“So I think for us, we start with the individual meetings with the young men in our program, and then we make a great evaluation of what’s best for us as we move this football program forward.”
Assessing the Penn State 2026 quarterback situation
With Grunkemeyer maybe moving on, the Lions are down to just one scholarship quarterback at the moment: Jaxon Smolik, a redshirt sophomore. He is a candidate to transfer, as well.
Penn State is bringing two quarterbacks in from the recruiting realm. Peyton Falzone is already officially a Nittany Lion. Former Iowa State quarterback commit Kase Evans will join him before long. Campbell may also look to add current Cyclones quarterback Rocch Becht via the portal.