2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 9 Beau Pribula
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
We continue this series by taking a look at one of the key players on the offensive side of the football, the expected backup quarterback. Beau Pribula is entering his second season with the program as the expected backup to Drew Allar, but Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich spent some time in the spring working on ways to get Pribula involved in the offense doing some things they may not ask of Allar. How much of that we see in the fall remains to be seen, but here is a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s most notable backups for the 2023 offense.
Preseason Player Profile
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Hometown: York, PA
Height: 6-2
Weight: 206
247Sports Composite Ranking
Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
[3-stars] | [No. 14 in Pennsylvania] | [No. 27 overall quarterback]
Class of 2022
Class in 2023: Redshirt freshman
Penn State could have just settled on recruiting Drew Allar and calling it a recruiting class at the quarterback position, but the staff kept going with a pursuit of Beau Pribula in the Class of 2022. It’s a good thing too as Penn State has seen a handful of quarterbacks come and go by way of the transfer portal, and Pribula being on board helped pad the depth chart a bit for the 2023 season with the departure of Christian Veilleux following the 2022 season.
Pribula was one of the top players in Pennsylvania, which automatically made him a recruiting target for James Franklin and his staff. The Central York playmaker committed to Penn State in August 2020 and signed his letter of intent in the early signing period for the Class of 2022 and enrolled in January 2022 to get started working out and practicing in the spring semester.
Career Stats
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Games | Completions | Attempts | Yards | TD | INT | |
2022 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
It is not surprising that Beau Pribula didn’t get a chance to record any stats or step on the field in 2022. Sean Clifford was wrapping up his six-year tenure at Penn State with one final year as the starting quarterback, and Drew Allar saw the vast majority of the backup duty behind Clifford. Christian Veilleux was still on the roster and was the next backup option for the offense when called upon.
That left plenty of time for Priubula to focus on continuing to learn and develop in practice and in the film room to prepare himself for the likely role he will fill in 2023.
Depth Chart Overview
Syndication: York Daily Record
Penn State will be breaking in a new starting quarterback for just the third time under head coach James Frnaklin (Trace McSorley and Sean Clifford being the first two new starting quarterbacks for Franklin after inheriting Christan Hackenberg at the start of his time with the Nittany Lions). Drew Allar will be that new starting quarterback, and nobody is buying any legitimacy to an idea of a competition for the job. But Beau Pribula could potentially have a role in the offense as Penn State looks to maximize what it does with the talent and skill at its disposal.
With Allar being more of the pocket-passer Penn State hopes leads to great success, Pribula could be a player that adds a little spice at times to keep defenses on their toes. Franklin suggested in the spring the team was working on finding ways to utilize Priubula in ways Allar will not be, so it remains to be seen just how much of Pribula we see in the Penn State offense, and how effective it will ultimately be.
Regardless of how Pribula is used, it is clear that Allar will be the top guy leading the offense, but don’t be shocked if we see Pribula leave his own mark at times.
