Penn State signs top-rated player from Pennsylvania for 3rd year in a row

by rich scarcella

Quinton Martin Jr. followed in the footsteps of Nick Singleton and J’ven Williams on Wednesday and became the third straight top-rated recruit from Pennsylvania to land with Penn State on Signing Day.

Martin, a running back and receiver from PIAA Class 3A champion Belle Vernon, and Wyomissing lineman Caleb Brewer were two of 25 high school seniors to sign letters of intent with the Nittany Lions, including eight from Pennsylvania.

Penn State coach James Franklin would like to make it four in a row in a year. Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, began the run two years ago, followed last year by Williams, Brewer’s former teammate at Wyomissing.

“All these players have a responsibility to help us sign the No. 1 player in the state next year as well,” Franklin said. “We take a lot of pride in that. I’m a big believer that it’s a win-win for everybody. The best players need to stay in Pennsylvania and they need to come to Penn State.”

The 6-1, 185-pound Martin, a four-star prospect, picked Penn State over Ohio State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. He rushed for 1,181 yards and 16 touchdowns this season and caught 53 passes for 764 yards and 11 TDs. He finished his career with 3,787 rushing yards and 77 TDs.

He led Belle Vernon to back-to-back state titles.

“Quinton really was low maintenance,” Franklin said. “He and his family and his support system have been awesome. He committed to us and never wavered. He didn’t flirt with other schools. He totally shut it down.

“He really has done extremely well academically. He’s just been awesome.”

Martin is one of two running backs in Penn State’s recruiting class, which was ranked 15th by 247Sports and 16th by On3. The other back is four-star prospect Corey Smith of Waukesha, Wis., one of three players from Wisconsin who signed with the Lions.

The 5-10, 175-pound Smith led his team to the state semifinals this season and was rated one of the top five players in Wisconsin.

“Both Quinton and Corey were used heavily as wide receivers,” Franklin said. “In today’s college football or the NFL, the more ways you can use running backs the better. We’ve made a huge investment to use our running backs in different areas and we want to continue to grow in that area.

“I actually think Quinton and Corey can play wide receiver for us.”

Ethan Grunkemeyer might one day be the quarterback throwing to them and others. The 6-2, 200-pound Grunkemeyer committed to Penn State early and threw for 8,401 yards and 80 touchdowns in his career at Oletangy High School in Ohio.

He’s trained by Brad Manedler, who also trains Lions sophomore quarterback Drew Allar. Grunkemeyer will be one of four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, along with Allar, Beau Pribula and Jaxon Smolik.

“We recruited Ethan because we’ve seen over time that he has a chance to be a really talented player in the Big Ten and nationally,” Franklin said. “He’s proved that over his entire career and really over the last year and a half. He’s really taken it to a different level.

“His high school and his high school coach did a phenomenal job with him. His quarterback trainer has done a great job with him as well. His family has done a great job. This kid is wired right and he’s been raised right.”

The 6-4, 270-pound Brewer is one of five offensive linemen in Penn State’s class, one of two from Pennsylvania along with Erie McDowell’s Cooper Cousins.

Brewer plans to wrestle for Wyomissing this winter and to enroll at Penn State in the spring. He picked the Lions over Michigan and Notre Dame.

“You’re not gonna have any bigger cheerleaders than me and Traut (offensive line coach Phil Trautwein),” Franklin said to Brewer after he signed Wednesday morning. “Don’t wrestle too well because I really don’t wanna compete with Cael (Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson).”

Penn State was behind Ohio State and future Big Ten member Oregon in the recruiting rankings and slightly ahead of conference champion Michigan. None of the Lions’ committed players flipped.

“In 2023 there’s a lot to be said about a drama-free signing day,” Franklin said. “It’s very telling about the staff and how thorough and detailed we are. It’s very telling about our process that we don’t pressure guys to commit.

“It’s a pretty well-rounded class. We were able to fill needs at every position as well as signing (players) so we can continue developing across the board.”