Walking into the 2025 season, James Franklin has got to fix the narrative around him first. After all, the Penn State Nittany Lions head coach is now carrying the burden of the ‘incapable’ tag. Thanks to Paul Finebaum. “They have James Franklin as the head coach. And while he is a very good coach, his record speaks for itself, he is incapable of winning that last game,” said the ESPN analyst.

But to get rid of that ending game curse, Franklin has to count on his players. Penn State already knows that its senior quarterback, Drew Allar, is going to start for them this season. But as the 2025 season is knocking at the door, it’s high time Franklin names his backup quarterback. When is the head coach going to make the call?   

On Tuesday, August 19, Franklin faced the media after the team’s practice. That’s when he broke the silence on his backup quarterback scene. “We’re close to making a decision. We haven’t sat down and talked to those guys yet. Probably a week ago, we were close to making a decision and then held off because we had a couple of inconsistent practices, but we’re close to making that decision again.” The race to sit behind Allar is going to be between Jaxon Smolik and Ethan Grunkemeyer. 

So far through fall camp, Smolik and Grunkemeyer have each received reps in practice as Penn State’s No. 2 quarterback. Franklin is treading with extreme caution since the quarterback position is very sensitive. Its a major reason which propelled Penn State to be ranked No.2 in the Associated Press Top 25 heading into the season. Not just Allar, Franklin’s other quarterback options did not leave any stones unturned to evolve into their best versions. Smolik and Grunkemeyer have had a near-even split of reps in practice and have both gotten chances to work with the top group of receivers and tight ends. As Franklin’s quarterback coach, Danny O’Brien noted, “It’s a very healthy competition, like our room is very tight-knit, but they both know what they’re competing for.” Whom among the two is likely to be chosen as his QB2?

During their last week’s practice, all eyes were on Allar and Grunkemeyer, who threw deep balls to receivers in the end zone. Both looked fairly accurate and on time with their throws. Not to forget, Franklin was the one who brought in Grunkemeyer, who was a top 10 quarterback prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle and a consensus four-star prospect. When Beau Pribula took an exit right before the playoffs, Grunkemeyer became the backup. But what about the other positions in the roster?

James Franklin is up for testing his options in the defensive tackle position 

In Penn State, the backup spots at defensive tackle are a major reason for concern since they consist mostly of inexperienced players. The 2024 season was all about injuries in Franklin’s defensive tackle position. Right tackle Anthony Donkoh and defensive tackle Alonzo Ford fell prey to injuries. Moving into this season, Franklin wants to play a lot of defensive tackles for the sole purpose of evaluating who is ready for bigger roles. 

He specifically praises Owen Wafle, “Plan on playing a bunch of those guys to create depth, but also to evaluate them. Wafle is a guy that’s really been a nice addition for us, and is playing some really good football. So, I think, he factors in and that, those next couple guys, there’s a battle.” The other guys whom Franklin can count on are Randy Adirika and Enai White. Franklin is pleased with White’s physical transformation, who has bulked up to 275 lbs. “There’s a battle. Enai’s done some nice things since we’ve moved him inside. I think he’s already up to 275 lbs. So, he has the ability to carry the weight pretty easily,” noted the head coach.

On the other hand, Adirika too is “doing some good things.” While James Franklin is yet to gain clarity about his backups and defensive position, he is sure about one thing: his quarterback, Drew Allar, is going to be their 2025 weapon. He sang in high praise of Allar as he faced the media on August 12, “So yeah, just all, all the things that you talk about when you talk about high-level quarterbacks, and the ones that have done it now for multiple years. He’s a proven commodity. There’s not many of them in college football.” Is 2025 the year Franklin finally breaks free from his end-of-season collapse curse?