Ethan Grunkmeyer never started a game for James Franklin. The redshirt freshman only took over once Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury and Franklin was fired midseason. Still, the 2024 four-star did enough in the Nittany Lions' final seven games of the season to play his way into a starting role for 2026, only that will come in Blacksburg, not Happy Valley.
On Sunday, as Matt Campbell’s three-year starting QB at Iowa State, Rocco Becht announced his commitment to Penn State, Grunkemeyer committed to Franklin’s Hokies. He will head to Blacksburg with three seasons of eligibility remaining after spending two years at Penn State, and though he started just seven games, the Ohio native posted an emotional goodbye to the program where his promising college football career got started.