Penn State Quarterback Beau Pribula Talks Football, Autographs for Kids and Appreciating Nittany Nation
The Penn State Nittany Lions are in the thick of the College Football Playoff rankings and are drawing themselves squarely into the national championship picture.
Rolling through the season with a 9 and 1 record, the Nittany Lion offense is one of the most versatile in the country. The creativity of coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's new look Penn State offense is on full display and showcases a QB1-2 punch in Drew Allar and Beau Pribula that and covers and attacks every blade of grass on the field.
Throw in the best tight end (and quite possibly the best football player) in the country in Tyler Warren, and a dynamic backfield that features running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and its not hard to see how this Swiss Army Knife of an offense makes it tough on every defense they line up against.
The squad's lone loss came in a one possession game against bitter rival and number 2 ranked Ohio State in early November.
Sophomore signal caller Pribula is a legitimate dual threat at the position, relieving starter Allar in certain key situations and also sharing the field with his fellow QB in other formations.
Pribula, the 6'2" 200 plus pound wrecking ball, had a legendary career at Central York (PA) and only had to look locally for gridiron inspiration.
"When I was growing up, it was just my high school, the guys at Central York." Pribula said. "I looked up to those guys. Being an in-state PA guy, it was Penn State. That was usually the team that was on in my house growing up. Pro wise, it was the Eagles. I’m an all-around PA sports fan."
Even as a quote-unquote backup QB, fans and autograph hounds will come calling, especially in today's marketplace. Nittany Nation can find a handful of autographed items of Beau on eBay at any given time. The young QB has no problem at all signing for fans, especially the youngsters in blue and white.
"My first autograph might have been my senior year of high school." Pribula reminisces. "My experiences have been really good. Fans are always super nice and I am always down to give autographs to anybody, especially the kids. When a kid wants an autograph, I am more than willing to do whatever they need, take a picture or whatever it may be. It’s always good to connect to the fans."
Penn State fans are as passionate as any in the country. There were a number on hand at a recent event I attended, with pictures, posters and footballs in hand. The players all did a great job honoring the requests and connecting with the fans. For as great as PSU fans are, Beau's most memorable fans are still the ones from back home.
"Anytime I see somebody from my area and they show their support I think it's really cool that we can connect in that aspect. Any time they give me a compliment I really appreciate it. I have a great fan base, so it's good any time I can connect with them."
We spoke a lot about the blue and white fandom. There's no environment quite like Happy Valley on a Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lion faithful don't always get to hear directly from the great athletes they watch on the field on Saturdays. Luckily for them, Beau is connected to the fanbase and appreciates each and every fan he encounters on and off the field.
"I'd say that we have one of, if not the best fanbase in the country." Beau confirms. "From a player's perspective, I don’t think that goes unnoticed at all. We notice every little thing that every fan does every single day. We feel all of the support all the time and everything that Nittany Nation does for us helps us on the field in the end. We are appreciative and thankful for Nittany Nation."
Pribula and company travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers in a tough game this Saturday and finish at home at Beaver Stadium the following week against the Maryland Terrapins.
Barring a major setback over the next two weeks, expect to see the Nittany Lions in the College Football Playoff bracket making noise in December.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms