Penn State’s QB question mark after Beau Pribula’s departure: ‘We don’t have a third option’

Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer at practice on August 3rd. Photo by Paul Burdick | For StateCollege.com

Beau Pribula is gone and Penn State now has a quarterback problem.

Drew Allar will obviously continue to be the starter in the team’s first-round College Football Playoff matchup against SMU on Saturday. But the depth behind him is questionable. Who will be Allar’s backup and what does the rest of the quarterback depth chart look like?

Ethan Grunkemeyer will officially take over Pribula’s former role as the Nittany Lions’ backup quarterback. James Franklin made the announcement after practice on Wednesday, when he also stated that future third-stringer Jaxon Smolik, who is recovering from an offseason injury, was not “medically cleared” to play against the Mustangs.

With Pribula in the transfer portal and Smolik considered inactive for Saturday, it’s unclear who exactly the emergency No. 3 quarterback will be behind Allar and Grunkemeyer.

“We don’t have a third option at this time,” Franklin said.

Realistically there are two options. The first is Jack Lambert, a redshirt freshman from Hampstead, North Carolina, who was twice named offensive player of the week on the program’s development team last season. The fact remains: Neither Grunkemeyer nor Lambert have broken out at the college level.

The second option, which is probably more fun and potentially more realistic, is tight end Tyler Warren, the only player other than Allar on the current roster who has attempted a pass this season. Warren, a former three-star quarterback who was originally slated for the position at Virginia Tech, has completed three of five pass attempts for 35 yards and a touchdown in 2024.

Warren also has 23 carries for 191 yards and four scores this season and has received quarterback snaps out of the Wildcat formation since his redshirt freshman year in 2021.

Franklin was asked Wednesday whether he would consider giving Warren quarterback relief in an emergency situation. He declined to answer.

“Our strategy and what we would do in this game, to say it now so they can prepare over the course of the week, I don’t think makes a lot of sense,” Franklin said.

On Monday, before Smolik was declared ineligible for medical reasons, Franklin said that both he and Grunkemeyer would be “part of the equation, part of the discussion” when it came to naming Allar’s replacement. While Smolik was “cleared for training” and was present Training on Wednesday He will not be able to play during the viewing session. At least for this week.

That puts added pressure on Allar to stay healthy over a period that could last four games from the first round on Saturday to the national championship on Jan. 20. It also puts pressure on Grunkemeyer, when his name is ultimately called, to play not just any game, but a playoff game with win-or-go-home implications.

As of Monday, Franklin said Grunkemeyer had completed about 350 practice reps in his first season. After Smolik was injured, he was in third place behind Allar and Pribula. It’s likely that Grunkemeyer’s rep count increased exponentially in the days following Pribula’s departure.

“Grunk has done a really good job of putting himself in a position that we have a lot of confidence in him,” Franklin said. “He’s getting a lot of reps this week.”