Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer commits to transfer to Virginia Tech

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer has committed to transfer to the Virginia Tech Hokies. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Grunkemeyer entered the 2025 season as the backup quarterback at Penn State. However, following the injury to Drew Allar and the firing of head coach James Franklin, he would take over as the team’s starting quarterback. In the process, he gained some massively important experience. He had previously appeared in Penn State’s 2024 College Football Playoff game against SMU. That was the only game he played in as a true freshman, though, allowing him to use a redshirt that season.

In total, Grunkemeyer would start the final seven games of the season for Penn State. During that time, the Nittany Lions went 4-3, suffering losses in the first three games he started. That included against multiple Playoff teams. For his part, Grunkemeyer completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 1,339 yards and eight touchdowns, against four interceptions. He also had one rushing touchdown.

Ethan Grunkemeyer played his high school football at Olentangy in Lewis Center, Ohio. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024. He was the 108th-ranked player overall and the ninth-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle.

Fired Penn State head coach James Franklin in the middle of this past season. He wouldn’t be out of a job for long, though. Franklin landed the Virginia Tech job and has since been recruiting heavily, including from Penn State’s high school class and now from its outgoing transfers. Among them, Grunkemeyer is included.

Franklin takes over at Virginia Tech following the Brent Pry era. In less than four full seasons there, Pry went 16-24, making two bowl games. However, he never won more than seven games in a single season. It’s now been since the 2016 season, the first under head coach Justin Fuente, when the Hokies were able to win double-digit games in a single season.

Virginia Tech has had its fair share of transfer leaving the program. That includes 14 total players. Among them are two quarterbacks, Garret Rangel and Pop Watson.

Meanwhile, Penn State has had 35 players transfer out of the program. Among them are three different quarterbacks. First is Ethan Grunkemeyer, who was joined by Jaxon Smolik and Bekkem Kritza in the Transfer Portal this cycle. In return, the expectation is that new head coach Matt Campbell dips into the Transfer Portal to replace numerous players, not just at quarterback but across the board.