If there is one takeaway from week one of the college football season, it’s that freshmen and newly starting quarterbacks struggle early in the season.

CJ Carr, Notre Dame’s true freshman starter, found some difficulties against No. 10 Miami. While his poise and arm talent were obvious, Carr made mistakes that would be expected in his first career start, including two intentional grounding penalties in the fourth quarter.

Ty Simpson also struggled for the Crimson Tide despite being a former five-star recruit with NFL talent on the offensive line and at receiver. Simpson’s Alabama fell to unranked Florida State in a game where they were 14-point favorites. He went 23-43 while struggling with the timing of passes.

Even the most hyped of prospects, like Heisman favorite Arch Manning, struggled in the season opener. Now, Manning faced what could turn out to be the best defense in the country away from home, but still, 170 with one touchdown and one interception does not cut it for the No. 1 team in the country. Manning also had experience coming into the year with 12 appearances in 2024 and two starts.

All of these young players had to face talented teams in some of the most challenging atmospheres in the country to establish their full-time QB1 accounts, but a loss on the schedule anywhere means an uphill climb to make the College Football Playoff, something Penn State will want to avoid in a challenging 2026 year.

Now, some first-time starters such as Bryce Underwood at Michigan and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele at Cal outperformed expectations. The issue is that they all played average teams at best and don’t have to deal with the pressures of being on playoff or bust teams.

Playing in Beaver Stadium with the nation’s eyes on you is not an easy task for anyone, especially a quarterback starting for the first time in college.

James Franklin has to be wary of this as 2026 nears and the end of Drew Allar’s time at the helm looms. The positive is that early in the season, the Nittany Lions play the likes of FIU and Villanova, allowing backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to get as much time as possible.

In game one against Nevada, Grunkemeyer got his time and showed out. The Lewis Center, Ohio, native threw nine times, completing seven of them for 86 yards and added a rushing touchdown.

“I was very impressed with Grunk[emeyer] and his performance,” Franklin said. “I actually thought he played in the game better than he’s practiced at times, in terms of he wasn’t holding on to the ball. He was decisive. When he did get pressure, he was able to step up in the pocket and find outlets quickly.”

The drive that stuck out for the redshirt freshman quarterback came in the middle of the fourth quarter. Grunkemeyer led the Penn State offense 94 yards, completing two first downs and a fourth down before running it in for the touchdown.

“I think that was big for our offense,” Grunkemeyer said at his media availability on Tuesday. “Coming out, backed up in our own territory, from the six-yard line and being able to march down all the way and score. That was pretty cool.”

Grunkemeyer won the QB2 job earlier last week after a long battle with Jaxon Smolik, who spent most of the 2024 season injured. Both quarterbacks looked good throughout spring and summer, and Franklin said the backup position battle will continue on through the season.

While it’s likely a good sign of depth in the Penn State quarterback room, splitting live game reps throughout the season also means whoever starts for the Nittany Lions in 2026 had significantly less experience than they could have.

“If you’ve got two quarterbacks, you have none,” famous coach and commentator John Madden once said.

The good thing is that no matter how many quarterbacks you have, they will continue to get reps throughout the week at practice and you can go live with them more often. Competition also breeds excellence as a strong QB2 battle forces Smolik and Grunkemeyer to perform at their best every day.

“Being able to push each other has really helped us make each other better players,” Grunkemeyer said. “I think that healthy competition is always really good for everybody, just being able to push each other and be the best player they can.”

The issue with the potential changing of the backup quarterback throughout the season means less live game time for whoever is Penn State’s starter in the 2026 season. Franklin noted this could also mean the battle for the top spot continues into the offseason and even the start of 2026.

As seen through the likes of Simpson and Manning, even developing for a year on the practice field isn’t always enough for young quarterbacks.

“It’s really valuable to get those live reps in practice that we do, we don’t do it very often, and then that’s where the game reps are so important, because they’re truly out there playing the game and managing the game, and you’re going to get a true evaluation,” Franklin said. “So really valuable. Hopefully we’ll be able to get them more time this week, and hopefully all season long.”

At practice, the defensive linemen are forced not to hit the quarterback, and as James Franklin put it, they will get their heads ripped off if they do. Sometimes, a signal caller will play differently in this setting because they feel safe. There’s also the difference of performing in front of your coaches to 106,000 of your peers and classmates.

“Just having game reps, playing in front of 100,000 fans is also something a little bit different and really cool,” Grunkemeyer said. “I think that practice has been trying to prepare you for that moment, but you can’t really replicate it until you’re necessarily in that moment.”

If the Nittany Lions want to avoid growing pains, finding a full-time second quarterback early in the season is a must. Because of the value of experience, it’s likely the answer will continue to be Grunkemeyer.

The 6’2″ quarterback not only will get time this season in multiple games, but he also saw the field in Beaver Stadium’s first-ever home playoff game against SMU. He only threw twice, one resulting in an interception, but the knowledge of how to prepare for such a game is a huge advantage.

“I think he handled the moment fine. He was prepared all week to go into the game,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said following the SMU game. “I think any time that you’re the backup quarterback or the third-string quarterback, you need to prepare like you’re the starter, and he does that.”

Grunkemeyer’s relationship with Drew Allar is also vital to his development. The quarterback mentioned that he is really close with Smolik and Allar, often asking the Medina, Ohio, native for help on the preparation aspect of games.

“I think that’s something I am continuing to try to learn from him,” Grunkemeyer said. “How he breaks down tape, how he prepares for the game plan, I am trying to always pick his brain on that.”

Regardless, the battle for the QB2 role and the eventual starting position rages on, but look out for Grunkemeyer or Smolik to get more time than most backups in the country if Penn State can continue handling teams early.