Penn State's Beau Pribula: 'I Feel Really Good in This Offense"

The quarterback is carving a role as potentially "another great weapon" in the Nittany Lions' offense.

Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula runs with the ball during the fourth quarter of the Blue-White spring game at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Even before Penn State began training camp, quarterback Beau Pribula had earned a bit of prime real estate in Andy Kotelnicki's offense. The coordinator identified Pribula as one of Penn State's best football players, called him a difference-maker and "another great weapon" and more than suggested that Pribula would serve as more than the team's backup.

As camp has progressed, Pribula evidently has risen into that role. The Nittany Lions move toward their Aug. 31 opener at West Virginia not with a dual-quarterback system but with two quarterbacks who can affect the offense. With his role growing, Pribula said this has been his best overall training camp at Penn State.

"I’d say this is the best year I’ve had," Pribula said. "I'm feeling the most comfortable I’ve ever felt. I feel really good in this offense, and I feel like I'm in a really good position."

Pribula, a third-year quarterback who arrived with starter Drew Allar in the 2022 recruiting class, served as the backup last season, though his role grew larger as the year progressed. Pribula ran for a career-high 71 yards against Rutgers, as interim coordinators Ty Howle and Ja'Juan Seider expanded his role, and had rushing and passing touchdowns against Michigan State.

In the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss, Pribula made a play-action, cross-field throw to Nicholas Singleton that the back turned into a 48-yard touchdown. It was an explosive moment the Nittany Lions had chased all season and, though it didn't change the game's outcome, foreshadowed how Pribula could help deliver big plays in Penn State's offense.

"What another great weapon," Kotelnicki said of Pribula. "... When you have a guy like that, whatever we have to do to get our best players on the field and put stress on the defense and that allows us to execute and go score touchdowns and win football games, we're going to do it."

That's exactly what energizes Pribula about Kotelnicki's offense and his place in it. Pribula said this has been his most efficient and effective training camp at Penn State regarding most metrics: passing efficiency, explosive plays, touchdown/turnover ratio and completion rate. He said Kotelnicki has had much to do with that.

"I'm seeing the field, being calm in the pocket, taking the space I need in the pocket and then extending plays when the opportunity displays itself," Pribula said. "... It's been easier to get those numbers and be more efficient when you have a great offensive coordinator who makes the game seem slower on the field."

Kotelnicki has said repeatedly that he bases his offense on getting the ball to his best players. Asked recently whether that included Pribula, Kotelnicki said, "Beau is one of our best players."

"One of the things that brings joy to my heart is watching people in college be genuinely excited for each other's success. And I think that is so true in all of our [position] rooms," Kotelnicki said. "But [Pribula] works. He's got the respect of his teammates. ... Beau wants to improve and wants to get better."

Pribula said Kotelnicki's offense fits him in many ways. It allows Pribula to deploy his speed, athleticism and "elite" (Kotelnicki's word) change-of-direction skills in packages designed specifically for them. As Kotelnicki said, "What do you do when you have an elite athlete? You have them do athletic things."

Pribula said that understanding his role has given him more throwing confidence.

"Just being more comfortable in the pocket and staying in there until the last second when the defense takes it away has really opened up a lot of things," Pribula said. "So I can really exhaust all of my progressions and then tuck it and run when the opportunity presents itself."

Pribula said the quarterbacks have more trust in their receivers within the new offense as well. Like his head coach, Pribula pointed to receivers Trey Wallace and Liam Wallace, his roommates, as having take-charge training camps. That has expanded their on-field relationships, something a former Penn State quarterback discussed with the team before camp.

Penn State's quarterbacks gathered in State College this summer for some workouts and tradecraft talk, with Trace McSorley acting as the elder. The former Nittany Lions starter, who recently signed with the Washington Commanders, encouraged Allar, Pribula and Ethan Grunkemeyer to go out of their way to be relationship quarterbacks.

"That's huge," Pribula said. "The relationship between quarterback and wide receiver is big. Trace talked about that. You've got to be confident, when it's man-coverage press, that your guy's going to win and create separation. With Trey and Liam leading the bunch, we can feel really confident in that. You feel comfortable giving them a change on a 50-50 ball that they're going to make a play and come down with it."

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.