Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520787
1 6 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M After backing up Drew Allar last sea- son, redshirt sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula is eyeing a bigger role in the Penn State offense in 2024. Pribula attempted only 21 passes in his debut season, completing 11 for 149 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he was a bigger threat as a runner. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from York, Pa., finished the season ranked third on the team with 329 rushing yards and 6 touch- downs on 56 carries, including 71 yards in a 27-6 win over Rutgers in November when he took over in the third quarter after Allar was knocked out of the game with an injury. This spring, both Pribula and Allar worked to adapt to the changes that new offensive coordinator Andy Kotel- nicki, formerly of Kansas and Buffalo, has been implementing. Pribula talked about that and more when he spoke with Penn State beat reporters at the conclusion of spring practice. QUESTION: How have you gotten better this spring? Are you different now than you were at the end of last season? PRIBULA: "Yes. I feel like I've taken some big steps this entire spring. It's been a really good five weeks as far as learning Coach K's offense, and that's becoming comfortable with it and fit- ting into that style well. I've been really comfortable, and I think his style fits me well." QUESTION: What specifically are you looking to work on between now and preseason camp? PRIBULA: "I think now that we have the foundation of Coach K's offense from the spring, we're just going to be dialing in on the more specific stuff so that we can handle that in the summer. We can watch more Kansas film and re- ally dive deep into it now that we under- stand what his philosophy is." QUESTION: How much of the new offense did you get installed during spring practice? PRIBULA: "We put a lot of stuff in this spring. We weren't able to show much of it [in the Blue-White Game], but with everything we installed, I think we're pretty far along. We put in a lot of stuff, run and pass." QUESTION: How do you determine whether you've had a successful install? Because the results might not be there in the spring, but the concept is what you're looking for. How do you deter- mine whether you have the offense in? PRIBULA: "It's just [all about] mov- ing forward to the summer. That's when we start to determine, 'OK, when we watch the film, do we like this? Maybe we don't really like that as much.' And that's [a question of] what the quarter- backs are comfortable with, what Coach K is comfortable with and agreeing on what we want to focus on heading into fall camp so we can get this dialed in before the season." QUESTION: How are you expecting to be used in this offense? PRIBULA: "That's for Coach K and Coach [James] Franklin to figure out, whether it's going to be similar to last year with the two-quarterback thing or what that's going to look like. "But anything they need me to do in this offense, I'm ready for. I'm always ready when my number is called." QUESTION: Has your working rela- tionship with Drew Allar changed now that you're both a little older and have more experience than you did when you came to Penn State in 2022? PRIBULA: "It's definitely changed since we first got here. When we first got here, we were both high school stu- dents. Sean [Clifford] was in the room. Especially since last year, me and Drew are the veterans within the quarterbacks room and on the team. We're older guys, and we understand a lot about the game now. We're super comfortable from that standpoint." QUESTION: How do you think you've improved as a thrower since you've gotten to Penn State. Rightly or wrongly, everyone thinks of you as a runner, but I'm sure you take your evo- lution as a passer very seriously. Can you talk about the strides you've made? PRIBULA: "I think physically, I'm a much better passer. This spring was really big for me, and the [Peach] Bowl prep, too. "This was my best spring, not only standing in the pocket and throwing downfield when I have time, but also when I extend plays, extending that line of scrimmage instead of tucking and running right away. That's something I was able to do a lot this spring. That's [an area] where I've improved, and I feel good about that." QUESTION: What's it been like us- ing the in-helmet headset this spring? PRIBULA: "It's definitely been dif- ferent, but it's a good change. And it's great to be able to do it this spring, be- cause we need that experience. "It's still good to regroup and get in a huddle. I've liked having the huddle this spring because it's good to regroup after each play. … But I think the headset is really good for college football. It's long overdue." Sitting Down With Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Beau Pribula Pribula played for both teams and completed 5 of 10 passes for 25 yards in the Blue-White Game. He also led the Blue squad with 21 yards rushing. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL