James Franklin expects Penn State backup quarterback battle to go 'right down to the wire'

The Penn State Nittany Lions return several key players on offense. That includes starting quarterback Drew Allar. However, with the transfer of backup Beau Pribula, head coach James Franklin is looking for an answer at that spot.

With Fall Camp underway, James Franklin emphasized that it’s a tight competition between Jaxon Smolik and Ethan Grunkemeyer. It’s so close, in fact, that the competition to be the backup at Penn State could go on all season long.

“So that one, in the spring, was really tightly contested,” James Franklin said. “I thought Jaxon would be rusty coming back, but he wasn’t. He had a great spring. So, this thing is, I think, going to go right down to the wire. Depending, 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, just based on how close it was this spring.”

While the competition is going to, seemingly, be a fluid one, James Franklin also acknowledged that there are metrics that Penn State has to help decide the competition. In particular, the quality of the decisions that his quarterbacks are making.

“Obviously, we have all the data to back that up, as well,” Franklin said. “In terms of completion percentage, third-down percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratios, all those metrics that we all know are important in evaluating the quarterback position. You know, eliminating three-and-outs, those types of possessions. And then we’ve talked about this before, whether it’s an interception or not, we also grade interception-worthy throws or interception-worthy decisions, okay. Just because the DB dropped the ball, that was still a bad decision or a bad throw. So, having all that data to try to compare and contrast is valuable, but we’ll see.”

Jaxon Smolik came to Penn State as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2023. He was the 36th-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle and has appeared in one game, missing 2024 with an injury. Then, Ethan Grunkemeyer was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024. He was the ninth-ranked quarterback in that recruiting class and appeared in one game last season while taking a redshirt.

“Again, it could be there’s a gap by one of them,” Franklin said. “And it’s clear who the number two quarterback is, or this will go through the season. To be honest with you, if it’s close all season, it could go into next year in terms of how this thing plays out. They have both made it interesting. They both have traits that you get excited about. It will be a really important competition.”

James Franklin would go on to emphasize the importance of finding good backups. That goes beyond the quarterback position, though, as depth should be tested around the entire roster over the course of a long season.

“I would say that, across the board, right, the twos and the threes, you guys don’t love talking about that a whole lot,” Franklin said. “But it’s going to be critical to our season. Who is the three running back, is going to be critical, who is the two quarterback, is going to be critical, who is the fifth and sixth D-tackle and fifth and sixth d-end, is going to be critical. That’s going to play a huge part in our season, and then being able to get all those guys reps in the first three games so we can evaluate them not just in practice but as games, as well, that’s going to be important, too.”

James Franklin has a few more weeks to decide on his backups. Penn State will open the season on August 30th against Nevada.