Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 0 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M E D I T O R I A L MATT HERB MATT.HERB@ON3.COM J ames Franklin looked as though he had a lot more he wanted to say at his weekly presser after responding to a question about the last-minute touch- down Penn State had scored a few days earlier in its 38-15 victory over West Virginia. Franklin peered down at his notes, then glanced at a Penn State sports in- formation staffer, as if to imply that the strategic communications staff had an- ticipated the question and advised him to simply let the matter go. Which, eventu- ally, he did. "I'm coachable, too," he said. If Franklin was quietly stewing, it was likely because his West Virginia coun- terpart, Neal Brown, had taken issue with the touchdown in question. Backup quarterback Beau Pribula had entered the game with less than four minutes remaining and PSU ahead by 16 points. The redshirt freshman promptly led the Nittany Lion offense on a nine-play drive that ended when he ran into the end zone with 6 seconds to play. Pressed by a member of the West Vir- ginia media corps after the game, Brown said he wasn't angry over the late score but then added, "I wouldn't have done it." "Stuff like that comes around and goes around," Brown continued. "At some point, it'll come back around. When, I don't know. But it doesn't bother me. I'm not upset about it." If there's going to be a comeuppance, it will presumably happen next season; al- though the Lions didn't have a firm 2024 schedule as of early September due to the Big Ten's recent addition of Oregon and Washington, they owe the Mountaineers a return game and will most likely be headed to Morgantown a year from now. It bears mentioning, though, that Franklin didn't actually do anything wrong — not if he wants to fully prepare his team for the difficulties it could face as it moves deeper into its season. Because Pribula has an important role as QB2 at Penn State, it's easy to forget he hadn't seen a single snap at the col- lege level prior to the Lions' 2023 opener. When he handed off to running back Trey Potts on first-and-10 with 3:30 remaining, it was his first play as a Penn State quarterback. For a team with College Football Play- off aspirations, that's less than optimal. Indeed, you don't have to rewind the tape too far to find a moment in Penn State history when the absence of a capable backup quarterback scuttled a potential playoff run. In October 2021, the Nittany Lions faced Iowa in a battle of unbeaten top- five rivals. PSU was seemingly on its way to a convincing win when Sean Clifford got hurt in the second quarter. The Lions had rolled to 17 points in the game's first 18 minutes, but with Ta'Quan Rober- son taking over for Clifford, the offense struggled amid the deafening noise of Kinnick Stadium. Penn State managed only a field goal the rest of the way, while the Hawkeyes steadily crept back into the game. The Lions ended up losing 23-20 and went into a tailspin from which they never entirely recovered. That game has since come to serve as a cautionary tale, and it's emblematic of an issue that is going to keep coming up again and again now that the transfer portal has changed the way teams are constructed. While the portal has given coaches a new tool with which to build their ros- ters, it has had the opposite effect at the game's most important position. Creat- ing depth at quarterback, never an easy task to begin with, is harder than ever because talented, ambitious backups don't have to wait around for their mo- ment to arrive. If not for the portal, Allar's backup this year would likely be third-year sophomore Christian Veilleux. But Veil- leux headed to Pitt in December. If not for the portal, Clifford's backup in 2021 would have been Will Levis. But Levis headed to Kentucky after the 2020 season. In explaining Penn State's play- calling in the final moments of the West Virginia game, Franklin said he wanted to give his backups a chance to run the offense the way it was designed to be run. "When our [second-team] offense was in there against a majority of their [first-team defense], they have the chance to go compete," he said. "They went to cover zero. It's hard to run when they go cover zero. Beau should have the ability to check to our cover zero plan and have a chance to execute a play that has a chance to be successful against cover zero, and then he should have a chance to score. "I'm comfortable with that." These days, coaches have to be com- fortable with that. There used to be a time when they could afford to patiently groom a freshman quarterback, since there was typically a more-experienced backup ahead of him. For better and for worse, that time has passed. The imperative now is to develop that freshman as quickly as possible, because you never know when you might need him. ■ Beau Pribula led Penn State on a nine-play, 46-yard touch- down drive in the final minutes against West Virginia. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL For Young QBs, There's No Time Like The Present VARSITY VIEWS