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Video Breakdown: Penn State adds fast-rising QB prospect Ethan Grunkemeyer

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•05/20/23•

ThomasFrankCarr

Ethan Grunkemeyer Penn State Football On3
Penn State added three-star quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to the Class of 2024 on Saturday. (Photo: Grunkemeyer family)

One of the most significant puzzle pieces for the Class of 2024 snapped into place on Saturday when three-star quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer committed to the Nittany Lions. Grunkemeyer is a fast-rising quarterback prospect from Olentangy high school in Ohio and is a pupil of QB trainer Brad Maendler. Maendler is also the coach of current Penn State passer Drew Allar.

So to give Penn State fans an assessment of how Grunkemeyer landed with the Nittany Lions, Blue White Illustrated publisher Sean Fitz and film analyst Thomas Frank Carr discuss Grunkemeyer’s commitment, talent, and impact on the Class.

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Familiarity helps Penn State land Grunkemeyer

Penn State’s recruitment of Grunkemeyer lasted all of 30 days. The Ohio quarterback earned a Penn State offer at the start of the spring evaluation period on April 20 and committed to the Nittany Lions on the same day the next month. Part of that accelerated timeline has to do with Maendler and his connection to the Penn State staff. However, Fitz says that Allar and Grunkemeyer shouldn’t be seen as the same type or style of player.

I think it’s convenient to compare the two, but I think it’s also reassuring on the Grunkemeyer side that Drew has come in, [and] he seems to have had a good experience with Penn State so far. There’s just trust on both sides. Mike Yurcich trusts Brad in terms of he’s not going to send him a dud. He’s not going to send him somebody that can’t throw the football. And on the other end, Brad can trust Mike in terms of taking care of his guys,”

Yet one aspect of Grunkemeyer’s game compares to Allar’s and is at least worth mentioning. He’s got an impressively strong arm and has some data to back that up, T-Frank explains,

“The arm strength, you see it on film. This is very interesting. You see, average velocity Wilson connected QB data. I dug into that a little bit. It’s literally a chip in the football, and then I think they calculate spin rate and velocity on all those things. You can see there [his velocity is] 48.2(mph). So we’re not taking that as a hard measurement here because that can also update since they tested that.

But also give you a ballpark that you mentioned the comparison to Drew our and to, you know, his frame, tools, and all those things. They’re not the same player. But I do think they share, in certain aspects, good arm strength. Grunkmeyer has a really good arm.”

Part of that ability comes from exceptional fundamentals, explains T-Frank.

“He has such a pure stroke that it just it’s like lightning coming out of his hands. He’s got lightning-quick feet and hips, so he can adjust. RPOs are no problem. Read-option is no problem throwing on the run here, as you see, he’s adept at it,” T-Frank explains.

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