STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula intends to enter the transfer portal, he announced Sunday night on X.
— Beau Pribula (@beauprib) December 16, 2024
A versatile athlete whose mobility provided a different element to the Nittany Lions’ offense this season where he backed up starter Drew Allar, Pribula should instantly become one of the most intriguing quarterbacks available in this winter transfer window. The timing of Pribula’s exit — one that he described on X as an “impossible decision” — coincides with Penn State preparing to host SMU on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Pribula will not be with the team this postseason.
It’s hardly a surprise that he won’t be part of the offense considering Pribula needs to quickly find his next team, feel comfortable in that situation and get to that campus before their spring semester wins. It’s a challenging situation for both Pribula, who has long had aspirations to be the starter, and Penn State, where the Nittany Lions’ offense is inevitably going to look different headed into the postseason without him.
Pribula completed 26 of 35 passers for 275 yards with five touchdowns to one interception this season. He also rushed 38 times for 260 yards and had four rushing touchdowns.
James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki are both slated to meet with the media Monday afternoon where Pribula’s departure will surely be part of the conversation.
What Pribula’s exit means for Penn State in the Playoff
Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has turned heads this season on the practice field. A four-star prospect from Ohio, Grunkemeyer immediately should become Allar’s backup. Quarterback Jaxon Smolik, who is a year ahead of Grunkemeyer, has dealt with an injury this season and his availability remains unclear. Having a quarterback with no game experience serving as the backup is certainly a risk, but there has been a lot of buzz surrounding Grunkemeyer.
“Ever since maybe the first third of the season past, he’s been on fire in terms of his process, how he prepares mentally and physically,” Allar said last month of the freshman. “We’ll have highlights of practice tapes up throughout the week and Grunk’s showing up a lot with the throws he’s making against our one defense. It’s really cool to see.”
Penn State was reminded this season at Wisconsin how valuable it is to have a capable backup who can go in and make plays. When Allar missed the entire second half at Camp Randall due to injury, it was Pribula who entered and showed that he was a much-improved passer. The knock on Pribula’s game had always been his arm strength, but in that game he showed that he could be an effective college quarterback whose mobility is a great asset, but it’s not the only thing he can do. Surely that game tape will also be one of the many pieces of information Pribula’s suitors are now looking at after he spent three seasons at Penn State.
Penn State was committed to using Pribula this season in Kotelnicki’s offense and it stuck to that plan. Regularly they’d put him on the field either to spell Allar for a change of pace or they’d spilt Allar out and have Pribula take the snap. Without him this postseason that entire two-quarterback package has to be scrapped. There’s no doubt this is less than ideal timing to lose a backup quarterback, but it’s also a byproduct of an NCAA calendar where if Pribula is going to be someone else’s starting quarterback next season he needs to get to that place as soon as possible. The current model — with a national championship game that’s on January 20 — just does not allow for that kind of flexibility.
Franklin has long praised Pribula, the lifelong Penn State fan who always wanted to be here competing for championships at his in-state school, for accepting his role and preparing as if he was the starter. He was also beloved by teammates who regularly said they believed that when he was in the huddle the offense was going to go down the field and score. There’s no doubt that losing one of the key locker room pieces to all this is a factor as well.
“He accepts his role and is battling every week to be the starting quarterback,” Franklin said of Pribula in late October after the Wisconsin game. “Makes plays with his feet, his mind and his arm. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s a big-time player and he’s unselfish in a time in college football that a lot of guys are selfish.”
What does Pribula’s departure mean for 2025?
There’s still much football to be played, but this raises an important question for next season. Allar has not announced whether or not he’ll return next year for a senior season. The NFL draft prospect likely won’t make that decision public until Penn State’s season ends. However, this move could potentially signal that regardless of how this season concludes, Allar might be leaning toward a return for 2025. If he wasn’t, wouldn’t Pribula stay here and try to at worst compete with Grunkemeyer for the starting job?
Now, there of course could be more variables at play. If Allar continues playing well this postseason and Penn State goes on a run where he looks good against elite competition — and keep in mind he’s coming off a Big Ten championship game where he once again flashed his NFL potential — then it’s difficult to figure what Allar would do. An NFL exit at that point would then either elevate Grunkemeyer or Smolik into the starting role, or could leave Penn State searching the transfer portal for a starter for next season.
Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki announced last week as speculation surrounding West Virginia being interested in him for their then head coaching vacancy that he was looking for to 2025. Surely Penn State’s coaches have a plan in place for who quarterbacks this offense next season, but there’s no doubt they’d be in a better position this postseason if Pribula was still on the roster.
Required reading
- How Penn State and Beaver Stadium are prepared to host a College Football Playoff game
- Penn State’s loss to Oregon was no moral victory. But it did highlight Playoff potential
- Penn State QB Drew Allar is showing more fire, keeping Nittany Lions on fast track to Playoff
(Photo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
