James Franklin led off the opening of Penn State Football spring practices with a press conference on Tuesday, and offered some pretty surprising nuggets about what to expect.
One of the biggest storylines for the Nittany Lions this year is replacing Sean Clifford, where every fan expects to see former five-star Drew Allar take over under center.
However, Franklin stated that all three of Penn State’s scholarship quarterbacks, Allar, Beau Pribula, and Jaxon Smolik, will split reps evenly early in spring ball.
Franklin also mentioned that redshirt freshman Beau Pribula would be expected to receive the most reps during spring ball.
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While it may be surprising that probable starting quarterback Drew Allar would not be receiving the most reps to get experience before West Virginia comes to town September 2nd, Franklin is likely alluding to non-traditional quarterback reps for Pribula.
“There’s some things that [Penn State] might want to do with Beau to take advantage of his skill set,” Franklin told reporters. “And maybe create an opportunity for him to get some more experience, not only during spring ball, but games next year as well.”
Franklin on Beau Pribula:
“I think there’s some things that we may want to do with Beau to take advantage of his skill set, and maybe they’ll create an opportunity for him to get some more experience, not only during spring ball, but games next year as well.”
— Justin Ciavolella (@jciavolella76) March 14, 2023
How might Penn State Football us Beau Pribula?
In his tenure at Penn State Football, Franklin has used non-traditional packages to get playmakers the ball, either using quarterbacks in non-traditional roles like Tommy Stevens during the 2017 and 2018 seasons or more recently lining up Tyler Warren as a wildcat quarterback in 2021 and 2022.
If Franklin believes Pribula’s skillset is unique enough to help Penn State win, he will find a way to get Pribula on the field, either with Allar or with a Pribula specific package.
In the past, Penn State has seen success with non-traditional packages, likely leading Franklin to be more confident using these packages again. In 2017, Tommy Stevens caught two touchdowns and rushed for four touchdowns, playing alongside Trace McSorely in various packages.
In 2021, Tyler Warren rushed for two touchdowns from a wildcat package.
If Beau Pribula can make a case during spring ball that his athleticism can bring another dimension to Penn State’s offense, Franklin will find a package for Pribula on the field, with or without Allar.
Even without Pribula outright winning the quarterback competition, Penn State fans will likely see more of Pribula this fall than anyone had anticipated. This storyline is definitely something to continue to monitor throughout spring practices and into fall camp and early games next season.
PSU spring ball in full swing. James Franklin talks QB position. @centralyorkFB @CentralYorkAth alum Beau Pribula is that battle. Will his skill set be used in other ways? @fox43 @FOX43Sports #PennState #NittanyLions pic.twitter.com/70uQdjF4P0
— Andrew Kalista (@KalistaAndrew) March 14, 2023
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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