After he became Olentangy football coach in January 2022, it didn't take Wade Bartholomew long to notice that his up-and-coming quarterback, Ethan Grunkemeyer , liked practices – and particularly his instruction – to go a certain way.
"He shows up every day wanting to get better, wanting to be coached, and if you don't coach him every rep, he's frustrated with you," said Bartholomew, a former quarterback at Westfall, Ohio Dominican and Capital. "Instead of just thinking he knows what's going on, he wants to get better. Through that ability to want to be coached, he's changed the little things."
From those little things, many big things have come. Grunkemeyer, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior , has thrown for more than 6,000 yards in two-plus seasons as a starter, and he capped a frenzied six months of recruitment by committing to Penn State on May 20. Olentangy (7-1, 2-1 OCC-Cardinal) sits atop the Division I, Region 2 computer ratings and is eighth in the state poll entering Friday's game at Dublin Jerome.
Grunkemeyer agreed with Bartholomew's assessment.
"I definitely strive for perfection," Grunkemeyer said. "That's always the goal. I know I won't be perfect – nobody is – so it's all about learning as much as I can throughout each practice, whenever I can."
Grunkemeyer, who has passed for 1,986 yards this season with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions, is ranked the fourth-best player in Ohio and sixth-best quarterback nationally by ESPN. ESPN, On3 and Rivals all have him as a four-star recruit .
After seeing spot time as a freshman, Grunkemeyer threw for 2,152 yards and 16 touchdowns with 10 interceptions as a sophomore. He followed that up with 2,567 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight picks as a junior, when he also ran for four scores, but Olentangy struggled to a 7-15 record in 2021 and 2022.
Grunkemeyer opened this season with a 444-yard, four-touchdown performance against Toledo Whitmer and has thrown for 200 or more yards five times since. A 27-20 loss to Olentangy Berlin in Week 6 is the team's only setback.
His recruitment took off late last season. The first offer came from Miami University, and Grunkemeyer said "close to 30" followed. He attributed this, in part, to working with northeast Ohio quarterbacks coach Brad Maendler, whose other pupils have included current Penn State starter Drew Allar .
Bartholomew said a few tweaks in particular have been key for Grunkemeyer.
"He's been able to marry his footwork with his read progression," Bartholomew said. "As a sophomore, you might get anxious and jittery, so you might take a three-step drop when you need to take a one-step drop. Now, he has his body and rhythm. He understands where to put the ball at the right time."
Grunkemeyer deflects credit whenever possible, not only to tight end and Cincinnati commit Gavin Grover or standout receiver Jackson Wiley, but often to his offensive line. He nominated the entire unit of Kyle Davis (RT), Micah Krenek (C), Alex Post (LG), Bryce Quisenberry (RG) and Chase Selhorst (LT) for The Dispatch.com's Wexner Medical Center Athlete of the Week award after the Braves rushed for 139 yards and Grunkemeyer passed for 200 in a 52-7 rout of Thomas Worthington on Sept. 30.
"I wanted to make sure that when they had a great week, opening up the run game and letting the passing game open up, that they got credit," Grunkemeyer said.
They didn't win the poll, but they have continued to win elsewhere.
"Ethan just has good leadership skills, really getting the team going and getting us all ready for games," Selhorst said. "It's a really good quality to be coachable and be able to adapt, be ready to learn."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Penn State getting meticulous QB in Olentangy's Grunkemeyer
