It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Penn State offense.

After losing Drew Allar to a season-ending injury last weekend against Northwestern, redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer is set to make his first career start at the beginning of the toughest stretch of the schedule.

The Nittany Lions will be on the road in a night game against Iowa, a notoriously tough place to play for any team. With Allar and James Franklin gone, and the Nittany Lions sitting in a three-game skid, it’s a tough ask for Grunkemeyer to come in and be an effective playcaller.

“I have all the confidence in the world. And ‘Grunk,’ he’s a baller. He goes out there. He plays with confidence. He’s been doing so since he’s gotten on campus, going against the scout team last year and this year in camp and spring ball,” Nick Dawkins said Tuesday.

Dawkins, a known leader in the locker room and an anchor on the offensive line, was shocked by the news of Allar’s injury. The sixth-year senior has now shifted his confidence towards the new man under center.

“He’s not scared, which is awesome. He plays to win. And that’s all you can ask out of a quarterback, especially given the situation,” Dawkins said.

The offense hasn’t lived up to its expectations this season. Even with Allar healthy, the transfer wide receiver trio has not lived up to the hype in a consistent fashion. Compound that with Kaytron Allen’s surge and Nick Singleton’s regression, there has been plenty of blame thrown around in the media as to why scoring points has been difficult at times.

All in all, this will be a time to start fresh with a new look. Grunkemeyer’s snap count is a small sample size, but he’s shown his abilities to put the ball where it needs to be, as well as use his legs when necessary.

“He takes what he does very seriously; he’s always leading when he was behind Drew. He’s always getting reps, always taking whatever opportunity he gets seriously, whether that’s off the field in the film room or on the field getting extra reps,” Devonte Ross said Tuesday. “‘Grunk’ is an amazing player. I believe in ‘Grunk.’ We all believe in ‘Grunk’ 100% so I know he’ll do a great job.”

The transfer wide receiver has had a more consistent role in the Penn State offense than his teammates. Although he’s registered fewer catches, Ross leads the team in receiving yards with 240 and three receiving touchdowns, his longest coming last week against Northwestern in a 67-yard scamper off a short, mesh concept.

“I feel like we’ve been building that connection, since I’ve been here, just getting those reps all off-season, and obviously going into this week, focusing on this week, making sure we’re taking all the reps seriously and practice, making sure we’re trying to execute at a high level,” Ross said.

With a new man at the head coach position, there’s room for speculation on what the offense will look like. It’s been debated on how much restraint was put on offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and his playcalling.

As Franklin exits, does interim head coach Terry Smith allow a full playbook to be played? Perhaps it was always Kotelnicki’s system that was the issue? Whatever the case, Smith is confident in Grunkemeyer’s capabilities and even said that they have “something in common” as the two have both been thrust into key roles in a matter of 48 hours.

“We have every bit of confidence in Ethan. He’s got a strong arm, he’s athletic, super smart kid. We’re entrusting him,” Smith said Monday. “We’re going to rep him all week and drill him all week, and put him in ‘class on grass.’ We’re very confident we’re gonna have a game plan for him that fits him. Super excited to see him go out there Saturday night.”