James Franklin arrives in helicopter to watch 4-star Penn State QB commit Ethan Grunkemeyer
When visiting Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy four-star quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer on Friday night, Penn State head coach James Franklin certainly did it in style.
The night before Penn State takes on Ohio State in a top-10 matchup at Ohio Stadium, Franklin arrived at Grunkemeyer’s local game by helicopter to watch the star quarterback commit of Penn State’s 2024 recruiting class.
Grunkemeyer is the nation’s No. 132 overall prospect and No. 8 quarterback in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 7 player in Ohio.
Grunkemeyer committed to PSU in May
Grunkemeyer pledged to the Nittany Lions back in May when he was the No. 644 overall prospect and No. 41 quarterback in the 2024 cycle.
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“Just continuing to get to know coach Yurcich, coach (Danny) O’Brien and Coach (James) Franklin was huge for me,” Grunkemeyer told Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated on May 13. “I’m really starting to feel comfortable with them. I think that was one of the biggest things. I really enjoyed spending the day with them. One of the first things we did was walk into Beaver Stadium, which was a really special moment. Walking in there and going down on the field, I could see myself playing there someday. It was really special.”
“I think I really fit in with their culture and their personalities,” he added. “They have a lot of good quarterback minds in their room. Coach O’Brien and Coach Yurcich both played the position and are really good coaches. I feel like I really fit in and can learn a lot from them.”
Grunkemeyer currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $294,000. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.