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Why is one Penn State assistant feeling 'really good' about the Lions' backup quarterbacks entering camp?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•07/30/25•

GregPickel

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Penn State quarterbacks Ethan Grunkemeyer (left) and Jaxon Smolik. (BWI photos)

It would be disengenuous not to acknowledge that there is no more peak July college football content than a story about backup quarterbacks. But, it also would be ignorant to note that, no matter if your team has a potential first-round NFL Draft pick under center like Penn State does with Drew Allar or if you’re a team with a transfer quarterback trying to win the job like, say, Missouri with Beau Pribula, the guys behind the guy are talked about far more often than they probably should be. So, it’s with that in mind that we turn our attention today, on the first day of preseason camp, no less, to the two players vying for the No. 2 job behind the Lions senior in 2025: Redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smolik and redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer.

Both Nittany Lions have something of a unique footnote in their career bios to date. Smolik has the most unfortunate of the two. He, of course, missed all of last year due to an injury. As for Grunkemeyer, he is a member of a very small fraternity of players who moved into a backup role for the postseason only because the season-long No. 2 felt he needed to hit the portal before the College Football Playoff started to find the best situation possible for 2025. To date, Smolik has appeared in one game. Grunkemeyer has as well. His first toss of two against SMU in December was picked off. But, he did complete one pass for nine yards, which gives him more of both at the college level than his older classmate has.

More: James Franklin sets the pace for Penn State’s 2025 title push

We say all of that to say this: In modern college football, having that kind of inexperience battling for the backup quarterback job is likely going to become the norm. The two were tight coming out of spring practice. That makes their upcoming camp battle one that will fascinate fans from afar. Recently, Lions strength coach Chuck Losey provided the latest update on the duo as they sit on the cusp of putting the pads back on.

“I feel really good about them,” Losey said. “I think they’ve both have done really good job. When you’re talking about Jaxson Smolik, and then you’re talking about Ethan Grunkemeyer, both of them understand that they’re only one snap away from being in the game, and they attack every day like that. I know that sounds like coach speak, but you know, with what you would want to see out of a guy who was one snap away from leading your program, I got full confidence in both of those guys.

“Jaxson rebounded tremendously from that knee, and you wouldn’t know any difference. Watching them out here on the field, I think both of them have grown from a leadership standpoint and their ability to take the reins with the offense and be the commander. So I’m excited for them both.”

Preseason camp content catch-up

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If you’ve been spending the last few weeks checking off some items on your summer bucket list and not spending as much time focusing on Penn State football as you will in the fall, we get it. It’s why we put together some of our top preview content that you may have missed below:

Three under-the-radar storylines for Penn State football heading into training camp

What are the top 5 things we learned about Penn State this offseason? A key injury, transfer changes, a big hire, and more

Jim Knowles isn’t rebuilding at Penn State – he’s finishing the job

How Andy Kotelnicki’s return fueled Penn State’s 2025 hopes

Which Penn State position group that ‘no one wants to talk about’ could be a sneaky differentiator this fall?

Penn State roster and staff update: 4 Lions have a new number, and a letterman has a new title

Projecting Penn State Football’s preseason camp position battles: Nickel

Projecting Penn State Football’s preseason camp position battles: Backup Quarterback

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