Penn State’s QB coach pleased with ongoing backup competition

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is one of the nation’s most veteran teams, a big reason the Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 heading into the season. The quarterback position, manned by third-year starter Drew Allar, is a big part of that.

There are few schools in the country that, if given the opportunity, would pass on the chance to have Allar in their program.

But Penn State has some uncertainty behind its senior signal caller.

There’s a rolling competition in training camp between redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smolik and redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer for the No. 2 job.

To this point, neither has separated himself to earn official backup quarterback designation. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been good moments, though, with the season opener against Nevada just over two weeks away.

“I’ve been pleased with how they’ve shown up to compete every day. It’s a very healthy competition,” quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien said after practice this week. “Our room is very tight-knit, but they both know what they’re competing for and they have a ton of respect for each other and are supporting each other.”

Smolik and Grunkemeyer have had a near-even split of reps in practice and have both gotten chances to work with the top group of receivers and tight ends. Grunkemeyer took the No. 2 reps behind Allar at this week’s public practice portion, but that could change next week.

What Penn State is looking for, O’Brien said, is the guy who can be consistently really good, rather than occasionally great. O’Brien also deferred to James Franklin on whether the Nittany Lions would officially name a backup QB ahead of the season, which the head coach left open-ended at the start of camp.

Heck, Franklin said the competition could continue through the season.

“This thing is, I think, going to go right down to the wire,” Franklin said in early August. “If it finishes up like it did in the spring, it could continue throughout the entire year if it’s close. If there’s a gap, there’s a gap. But if it’s close, I think the competition could go throughout the year. Whoever has the best week that week is going to be the backup quarterback type of deal.”

As Smolik dealt with a significant lower-body injury last year, Grunkemeyer was next up in the College Football Playoff behind Allar thanks to Beau Pribula’s untimely transfer. He saw action in just the opening-round blowout of SMU, throwing an interception on the first pass of his career. Grunkemeyer completed his only other attempt for 9 yards.

That made Grunkemeyer, a top-10 quarterback in his recruiting class, look like the clear-cut backup moving forward. But Smolik, a three-star prospect, looked strong in the Blue-White Game and quickly shook off any rust from the injury. Smolik additionally crushes playbook-related pop quizzes in the quarterback room.

Penn State should get the chance to test out both gunslingers, if the staff wants to, within the first three weeks of the season. Games against lowly Nevada, FIU and Villanova leading up to Oregon should allow for young players to experience important live reps.

Smolik and Grunkemeyer can also learn plenty from those around them as they continue to soak up practice information, as Penn State’s wide receiving corps consists of four seniors with a fifth-year tight end out there, too.

“I tell them all the time, a lot of those guys have played 1,000-plus plays. There’s a lot of wisdom in that. We work our tail off in here, in the classroom, on the practice field, but there’s no substitute for those live reps,” O’Brien said. “So be a sponge with those guys, too, as much as they are with Drew.

“For two young, talented quarterbacks, which they both are, you have so many really cool resources: all the technology we have, all the coaches. But the players, how they see things and the things that they’ve experienced, what a blessing to have that around every day before you’ve played just to soak up and listen to them, because there’s a lot of wisdom there.”