Nittany Lions hoping to see what Beau knows this season
Sep. 6—For once, it isn't about the experience Beau Pribula doesn't have.
This time, it's about what he knows.
One week after getting his first career collegiate action against West Virginia, Penn State's backup quarterback could be in line for an even bigger workload as the Nittany Lions host Football Championship Subdivision foe Delaware at Beaver Stadium. Getting it against the Fightin' Blue Hens would be quite fitting, too.
Priubla's older brother, Cade, played for Delaware for three seasons from 2019 through 2021, so he knows the program well and is even close to some current Blue Hens who were friends with his brother. The same day Beau Pribula completed his only pass for 7 yards, and rushed for 18 more, including a 5-yard score proved to be a big one for his brother, too. Now at Sacred Heart, Cade Pribula made his first career start in a loss against Lafayette, throwing for 138 yards and a touchdown.
"We just talked on the phone yesterday, talked about how his game went and how my game went," Beau Pribula said. "Obviously, we talked about Delaware. We're always talking about football. He's a great role model for me, a great person to bounce ideas off as a quarterback. He helps me a lot in every area of the game, and I think he's done a phenomenal job preparing me as a college quarterback."
From here on out, that preparation to be a college quarterback is up to head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, of course. And how they go about it will be a significant storyline this season for a Penn State team that learned the value of having an experienced backup the hard way just two years ago.
October 9. Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Penn State led by 10 in the second quarter and were dominating offensively when starting quarterback Sean Clifford went down with an injury. With just a handful of snaps worth of game action during his first few seasons on the roster, backup Ta'Quan Roberson entered the game ... and froze.
He completed just 7 of 21 throws for a mere 34 yards. He was intercepted twice, and a Penn State offense that moved at will in the first half got nothing going later in a 23-20 loss that started a string of six losses in eight game.
Roberson was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, but Penn State's coaching staff had to come to grips with the reality that it didn't play him enough to make sure he developed the way he needed. Franklin's push since is to not allow it to happen again.
In 2022, five-star prospect Drew Allar earned the backup job, played in 10 games and threw 60 passes. It marked the most throws a Penn State backup quarterback had in a season since West Scranton's Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden practically split the snaps under center in 2011.
While Allar took command of the starting position with a dazzling 325-yard, three-touchdown debut of his own Saturday, Pribula's impressive drive had Franklin revisiting comparisons between him and a former Nittany Lions star quarterback who shared his No. 9 jersey, Trace McSorley.
"First of all, it's the mobility," Franklin said. "The other thing is both of them are men of few words. Both of them had significant impacts at their high schools in terms of winning and having really productive careers. They also both have really high football IQ's. The game makes sense to them."
But, even McSorley had just 40 career pass attempts as a backup, and all but 13 came in relief of injured Christian Hackenberg in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against Georgia. Franklin is hoping to get more experience than that for Pribula, who doesn't have Allar's frame or arm strength up did come to Penn State as a touted prospect after being named PIAA Player of the Year in Class 6A as a junior and senior at Central York High School.
"I think the standard rule is, always prepare as if you're the starter," Pribula said. "That's what I did. I did it last year, too. So it wasn't much of a change for this year. You've always got to prepare as if you're the starter. So then, when you get into a game, nothing changes. You don't have to do anything different because you're prepared."
The goal for Penn State is to make Pribula as prepared as possible. Just in case.
Weeks like this one, then, become potentially ultra-important when it comes to developing the key players who don't start.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9125;
@DonnieCollinsTT;
@PennStateTT
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