Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State quarterback commit Ethan Grunkemeyer has gotten Olentangy (Ohio) High off to a hot start. After throwing for 500 yards in a 46- 35 victory over Whitmer to open the sea- son, Grunkemeyer and his teammates faced another tough test on Aug. 25 when they traveled to Medina to face the high school alma mater of current Penn State starting quarterback Drew Allar. With Olentangy having won a com- bined total of only seven games the pre- vious two seasons, the local media ex- pected Medina to come out on top. The Bees had won 11 games last season and 13 the year before. Grunkemeyer and his teammates had different plans, though, totaling more than 400 yards of offense in a 53-28 romp. "I'm super happy with the way our team has gone out and competed," Grunkemeyer said. "Our goal is to go 1-0 each week, and I think we can continue to do that. Our O-line played really good the past two weeks, and our running backs had a really good game. "The week prior to that, our wide re- ceivers put up some big numbers. So, all across the board on offense, I'm re- ally happy with where we're at. When you add in our defense having a big night stopping one of the top offenses in the country, I couldn't be more happy about our team's performance." Grunkemeyer had a strong showing in 2022, throwing for 2,519 yards and 25 touchdowns. Olentangy coach Wade Bartholomew said he could tell last year that he had a good FBS prospect on his hands, but col- lege coaches still hadn't caught on. "There were times when I wanted to tell a lot of coaches that I thought they were being idiots," Bartholomew said. "He has to be one of the best natu- ral passers in the country at his age. I knew he would get bigger and stronger, too, and I do think that was part of his story. When he was a sophomore, he was maybe 6-1, 155 pounds. He played as a junior at about 170, but I knew that would change. "A lot of coaches just kept saying that they had to see him in person, or they had to see this or that. I talked to a few coaches about it directly on why they didn't offer sooner. Many of them kept suggesting that he's right there on their board, that he's close, but when it comes to those bigger schools, those offers didn't come. A lot of them said they were waiting to see where the dominos fell." An Eye-Opening Summer Interest started to pick up during the spring evaluation period. Penn State was one of more than 20 schools that extended offers, and Grunkemeyer, now listed at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, com- mitted to the Nittany Lions on May 20. Like Allar, Grunkemeyer rocketed up the rankings after commiting. He was a three-star prospect when he received Ethan Grunkemeyer Continues His Ascent During Senior Season RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 .C O M Grunkemeyer opened his senior season with a 500-yard passing performance in a victory over Whitmer (Ohio) High. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER