Last season, while the Penn State Nittany Lions were getting ready for their College Football Playoff first-round encounter against SMU, backup quarterback Beau Pribula made the difficult choice of joining the transfer portal in search of better playing chances at a different school.
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The choice had to be a hard one for Pribula, as it meant leaving a program that was about to go on a potential run for the national title. Understandably, any player would have concerns that teammates could think he was betraying them by leaving in the middle of a title run.
Not the case for the Nittany Lions, as in a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Adam Breneman, Pribula revealed they were nothing but supportive of his decision to leave:
“I had to leave before the playoffs. Controversial…I had finally come to the decision where I was like ‘Okay, I’m going to have to move on.’ I went up to them and I was like ‘Guys, like I’m transferring and I have to leave right now. Like, I appreciate you guys for everything, and I just want to say goodbye.’
“They weren’t just supportive of me, like they were so excited for me and my future…he’s (Dani Dennis-Sutton) like ‘No Beau, like look at me man like I’m like so excited for you, like everybody knows it, like the whole team knew like, we’re just so excited for your future. Like I can’t wait to see what you do.’ and like they don’t realize how much that meant to me in that moment.”
At the time, the decision was controversial, as it left James Franklin and the Penn State without a trusted backup going into the College Football Playoff. If something were to happen to Drew Allar, it could spell disaster for the team.
In the end, nothing happened to Allar, and the Penn State defeated SMU in the first round and then Boise State in the quarterfinals. They finally fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals.
Beau Pribula’s career with the Penn State Nittany Lions
Beau Pribula enrolled in Penn State in early 2022, being a three-star recruit out of Pennsylvania. He was considered the 27th best overall quarterback in the nation, and the 14th best in Pennsylvania in his class according to 247Sports.
In two seasons at Happy Valley, he played in 24 games and recorded 424 passing yards, with nine touchdown passes and only one interception. He also ran for 571 rushing yards, scoring 10 touchdowns in 94 carries.
Pribula has since transferred to Missouri and was considered a four-star transferee and the 12th-best signal-caller in the portal. He’s currently competing for the starting job with the Tigers.
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