Whoever coined the phrase “when you have two good quarterbacks you have none” doesn’t strike me as someone who is all that bright.
The reality is, that if you have two good quarterbacks you have two good quarterbacks.
It’s only a problem if you make it one. Otherwise, it’s a great “problem” to have.
Does Penn State have this “problem”? I don’t believe so.
I think the jury is still out on both Drew Allar and Beau Pribula.
Head Coach James Franklin maintains there’s been a healthy competition between the two heading into this weekend’s Blue-White game.
That’s what he said. Here’s what the reality is. Allar is the starting quarterback heading into next season. End of story.
That hasn’t sat well with the Penn State faithful and that’s certainly understandable.
Is Criticism for Drew Allar Even Merited?
There is an underlying anger and mounting skepticism from an anti-Allar mob mentality dressed in blue and white.
It’s hard to blame them.
While Allar put up good numbers last year in his first full season as the starting quarterback, the devil is in the details.
The 6-foot-5 sophomore with the big arm and big body threw for 2,631 yards with a completion percentage of just under 60 percent. He took care of the football too, tossing 25 touchdowns to just two interceptions while leading the Nittany Lions to a 10-3 record. At a glance, not too shabby.
But, the scoreboard never lies and in the three biggest games of the season, Allar was far from good.
Versus Ohio State Allar completed just 18 passes on 42 attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown in a 20-12 loss. But, 73 of those yards came on Penn State’s last drive of the game when Ohio State went into a semi-prevent defense. The Nits’ offense was an abysmal 1 for 16 on 3rd down conversions, the lone conversion coming with :45 seconds left on that final drive.
A few weeks later in the next biggest game of the season, Allar went 10 for 22 for 70 yards and one touchdown in a miserable home loss to Michigan 24-15.
Again, Allar’s only touchdown drive of the game came in the waning moments when the Wolverines went into a semi-prevent defense. That pretty much ended any hope for Penn State qualifying for the College Football Playoff.
Fast forward to the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Allar’s poor performance was only usurped by the Lions’ no-show defense that day.
Allar was just 19 for 39 for 295 yards with two turnovers; an interception and a fumble. The interception resulted in seven points for Ole Miss en route to their first 11 win season ever, a 38-25 rout for Lane Kiffin’s troops.
So if you’re keeping score at home that’s three big games and three big flops for the former 5-star recruit.
Enter Beau Pribula.
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Would Beau Pribula Be an Upgrade for Penn State Football?
Pribula stands at just 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds and while he doesn’t have the huge arm that Allar does, his skill set is better than former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, whom Pribula garners comparisons to.
McSorley stood at just about 6 feet, and didn’t have a huge arm, yet still left Happy Valley with no less than six passing records as a three-year starter.
Pribula draws comparisons to McSorley because of his “IT” factor.
It feels like every time the sophomore from York, PA steps on the field something big is about to happen. He only threw 21 passes last year completing just 11 of them but four of them were for touchdowns last season. He also rushed the ball 56 times for 329 yards and six touchdowns.
Pribula led all Penn State rushers with a six yard per carry average. Allar carried the ball 74 times for 210 yards and four touchdowns of his own but with a much less yards per carry average of 2.8.
In the Peach Bowl, Pribula was inserted into the game following Allar’s first-quarter interception. Pribula rushed for 12 yards the first time he touched the ball and on the very next play he found Nicholas Singleton for a 48 yard touchdown strike, his only pass of the game.
Pribula recently was asked about his “IT” factor and how he feels about being compared to Trace McSorley.
“You know it’s just something that you know I play with,” Pribula told reporters. “I think it’s you know just playing with a chip on your shoulder and being a competitive guy I think it just comes with it and yeah I see the comparison, I see where it comes from, obviously he was a great player so to be compared to him is you know, all I remember from him was wins you know he won every game that he played it seems like so to be compared to him is a good thing and I hope you know the biggest stat is a W (win).”
Will Beau Pribula Get His Chance in 2024?
Franklin hasn’t wavered on his choice for QB1 and is going with the incumbent heading into next season.
The head coach had this to say about both quarterbacks recently.
“I think he’s (Allar) ready to take the next step,” Franklin told reporters. “I think he’s excited about some of the things that we’re doing. He’s had a great offseason. He’s moving better. He looks better. He looks leaner. His weight is still very similar, but I think he’s changed kind of his body composition in a lot of ways.”
“I think obviously, just like we did last year, I think we’ve got a ton of respect in our program for Beau Pribula as well and what he’s going to be able to do not only to make our offense more difficult to defend, but also to be a complementary piece and a competitive piece with Drew.”
New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has already gone on the record that he sees a role for Pribula in the Nittany Lions’ offense.
“Any players that can help us win games on offense, we’ll find a way to use them,” Kotelnicki said last week.
I can understand why Nittany Nation is running out of patience for the Drew Allar experiment.
Quarterbacks will forever be judged by how they perform on the biggest of stages under the brightest of lights and like I stated before, the scoreboard never lies.
To be fair, Pribula hasn’t been thrown into the fire yet so I feel the jury is still out on both quarterbacks.
But, windows close fast at this level, and I personally wouldn’t object to a quarterback change if things go south again for Allar when on the big stage because while he has the physical skill set, Pribula seems to have that intangible that just can’t be taught. Stay tuned.
MORE: Young Players to Watch in Blue-White Game
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
