After a six-game run as the Penn State starting quarterback, Ethan Grunkemeyer will explore his options next month. The redshirt freshman will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal when it opens Jan. 2, and he figures to have an intriguing market as a young signal-caller with pedigree who flashed his talent at times in 2025.
Grunkemeyer’s pending departure — just because a player enters the transfer portal, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are leaving the program, though players withdrawing their names is rare — comes after Penn State introduced Matt Campbell as its new head coach Dec. 8.
The Nittany Lions offensive staff is turning over, too. Campbell is bringing Taylor Mouser with him from Iowa State to be the Penn State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is remaining with the team through the Pinstripe Bowl before moving on to the next stage of his career. Quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien followed former coach James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
Grunkemeyer was 4-3 as Penn State’s starting quarterback after he took over for the injured Drew Allar in mid-October. Grunkemeyer finished the year 123-of-178 (69.1%) for 1,339 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions in 11 games.
In November, Grunkemeyer acknowledged what was facing him as a quarterback leading a team that was undergoing a coaching change. He expressed his appreciation for Penn State, but he also made it clear that he understands the reality of his situation.
“Yeah, I think that if the opportunity was right, and that… absolutely,” Grunkemeyer said Nov. 11. “I love Penn State. I love everything it stands for. Like you said, just staying 1-0, in the mindset. But like I said, just love Penn State, and if the opportunity was right, definitely.”
After Penn State beat Rutgers in the season finale to clinch bowl eligibility, Grunkemeyer outlined what he wanted to know from the yet-to-be hired coach.
“I just really want to sit down with them and see what the plan is, just talk to him about my future and what he sees me doing and just seeing what he does as a coach and how we can develop that way,” Grunkemeyer said Nov. 30. “I think that’s just really the biggest thing is just sitting down with him.”
Grunkemeyer did not receive an offer from Campbell and Iowa State during the recruiting process, though he did share a photo from a visit to Ames, Iowa, from March 2022 on social media.
Grunkemeyer committed to Penn State in May 2023. He grew up as an Ohio State fan and attended Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy in the Columbus suburbs. He finished the Class of 2024 recruiting cycle rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, and he was ranked as the No. 3 player in Ohio, the No. 8 quarterback nationally and the No. 103 overall prospect in the class.
He spent his true freshman season as the No. 3 quarterback behind Allar and Beau Pribula, and he made his collegiate debut in the win over SMU in the College Football Playoff after Pribula entered the transfer portal.
Grunkemeyer won the No. 2 job behind Allar in 2025 by beating out redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smolik. Freshman Bekkem Kritza was the fourth scholarship quarterback on the roster in 2025. Wide receiver Liam Clifford ended the season as Grunkemeyer’s top backup.
During a meeting with a small group of reporters, including Lions247, after his introductory news conference Dec. 8, Campbell discussed what he’s looking for in his starting quarterback.
“Quarterback’s funny, right?” Campbell said. “It’s fit. It’s the relationship with the head coach. The head coach and the quarterback better be linked at the hip. The quarterback and the head coach get all the blame, and they probably get all the credit on both sides of it probably [when] that’s not always true. But they better be linked at the hip because I feel like the quarterback has got to have the leadership ability, the toughness and the grit to control the locker room.
“I think you’re always looking for the right intangibles that way. Everybody likes fast, everybody likes arm strength, but those things don’t win. What wins is grit, toughness, character and the ability to lead others around you, and the locker room always knows who the quarterback should be. I think from our end of it, that’s really big.”
As the Penn State program undergoes a massive overhaul, there will be plenty of positions to watch. But quarterback might have the most eyes on it.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.