There's no transfer for Virginia Tech that has received more attention than Ethan Grunkemeyer, the Penn State transfer who started the second half of the season for the Nittany Lions at quarterback and is expected to be the starting quarterback once James Franklin names one.
Grunkemeyer arrived at VT with plenty of buzz after a solid half season of work as a starter as helped the Nittany Lions rally to reach a bowl game and have many wondering if interim coach Terry Smith should get the full-time coach. He finished the season with 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns, four interceptions, a 69.1% completion rate, and a 142.6 passer rating; all of which are strong numbers for a redshirt freshman starting quarterback.
That obviously leads to Grunkemeyer having plenty of outside expectation surrounding him about him being able to be a quality Power 4 starting quarterback at minimum from day one for the Hokies. So far, Grunkemeyer seems to be living up to some of those expectations with it all starting with what Grunkemeyer brings to the table as a leader from James Franklin's perspective.
"First of all, he’s just wired the right way in terms of the guys in the locker room like and respect him," Franklin said.
QBs coach Danny O'Brien has also been impressed with not only the leadership abilities of Grunkemeyer but all four quarterbacks that Virginia Tech has.
"Ethan's a great leader. I think all four of them are very comfortable. They all lead by their actions and they're all very comfortable, not all guys are very vocal, like get in front of guys and talk and lead things, but like all four of them embody that, Ethan certainly has. I always tell them leadership looks different in every way but just be genuinely yourself and all four of them are very comfortable in their own skin and who they are. They're all different, which is awesome," O'Brien said.
