Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519242
1 0 M A Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I t appears that Penn State's quarterback corps won't be as deep as the team had hoped or expected in 2024. The Nittany Lions suffered a setback in March when backup Jaxon Smolik went down with an injury that will keep him sidelined indefinitely. The redshirt freshman was spotted at Penn State's first practice on March 12 but wasn't seen at any of the remaining practices that were open to the media. When he met with reporters on April 9, coach James Franklin confirmed that Smolik was out of action. "He's got a significant injury," Franklin said. "He'll be out for a period of time." Franklin said he doesn't discuss injuries publicly without first receiving permis- sion from the player and his family. The coach's oft-stated policy is to refrain from commenting on injuries unless they are season-ending. He did not say specifi- cally that Smolik's injury will keep him on the sideline for the 2024 season, but he emphasized that "it is significant." A 6-foot-1, 205-pound native of Van Meter, Iowa, Smolik backed up then- sophomore Drew Allar and redshirt fresh- man Beau Pribula during his first season on campus and was expected to have a similar role in 2024. He did play in one game last year, totaling two snaps in the fourth quarter of Penn State's 63-7 rout of Delaware. In a February interview, Smolik dis- cussed the progress he made in his first year on campus after arriving as a three- star recruit out of Dowling Catholic High, where he completed 64 percent of his at- tempts for 1,967 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. "It was a good experience. I learned so much from Beau and Drew and Coach [Danny] O'Brien. I grew a lot, too, know- ing the offense, knowing defenses. It was a really good experience last year," Smo- lik said. "I would always ask them ques- tions: 'What's the read here? If you get this look, what do you do?' They were always so helpful with that. They were always helping me and showing me on the field and then showing me in the film room." Smolik's injury will thrust true fresh- man Ethan Grunkemeyer into a bigger role than expected, with the Nittany Li- ons down to only three healthy schol- arship quarterbacks. A January enrollee, Grunkemeyer worked in spring practice to learn the offense that is being installed by first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, formerly of Kansas. Grunkemeyer hasn't been available to the media since enrolling, but when he spoke to BWI in early January about the offensive transition that has been underway this offseason, he highlighted the importance of having a familiar face in the quarterbacks room in O'Brien. A graduate assistant last season, O'Brien is now the quarterbacks coach and oversees that room with help from Franklin and Kotelnicki. "Coach Franklin and Danny did a really good job of communicating," Grunke- meyer said at the Under Armour All- America Game. "Everything they knew, they told me. Obviously, they didn't know who they were going to hire until all the interviews were over. But I'm really ex- cited about who they found. I think Coach Kotelnicki is a really good offensive mind, and he's just a great person to be around. I'm really excited going there to work with him." After practice on March 26, Franklin offered an update on the growth he's seen from Grunkemeyer, a four-star prospect from Lewis Center, Ohio. "Grunkemeyer is really flashing and doing some nice things right now for a true freshman quarterback," he said. "What I'm most excited about is, he's Injury Erodes Penn State's Depth At Quarterback RYAN SNYDER | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M NEWS & NOTES Jaxon Smolik backed up Drew Allar and Beau Pribula as a true freshman last season. He suffered what was described as a "significant injury" this spring. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL