Penn State Football: James Franklin Gives Update On Backup Quarterback Battle
Penn State is well underway with spring practices with plenty of position battles to sort through before the 2025 season begins.
While the backup quarterback battle may not be the most exciting for fans heading into next season, because of the lack of playing time behind star quarterback Drew Allar, it is still imperative that Penn State mold a competent backup before the season begins.
After Beau Pribula transferred to Missouri this offseason, Penn State is left with only one quarterback with more than a few college snaps under his belt heading into a season with extremely high expectations for the Nittany Lions.
Whoever wins the backup quarterback battle will likely see important snaps early on during a weak non-conference slate for the Nittany Lions before Penn State reaches Big Ten play in late September.
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James Franklin Underscores Importance of Penn State’s Backup QB
On Tuesday night, Franklin met with the media again for his weekly post-practice availability.
During the availability, Franklin was asked about Penn State’s backup quarterback battle. In response, Franklin noted Jaxson Smolik “has done a heck of a job” coming off injury.
Franklin said that he expected Smolik to come off the injury a little rusty, but “he has not been.” Franklin continued that both Smolik and Ethan Grunkemeyer are both doing “really well, and that’s not coach speak.”
In terms of how long Franklin expects the backup quarterback battle to go, he stated, “I think this is going to be a competition that is going to go on for awhile.”
With four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this spring, with true freshman Bekham Kritza enrolling early in January, Penn State does not have to be in a rush to pick a backup quarterback, and may benefit from slow playing the decision.
The spring transfer portal window opens in a few weeks, and Penn State will want to keep either player who does not win the backup job from entering the portal.
With that in mind, the expectation is that the competition will not be settled until fall camp or maybe even into the season with a weak non-conference slate that could be ripe for backup quarterback development.
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