Beau Pribula Has a 'Chip on His Shoulder,' Missouri Coach Eliah Drinkwitz Says

But the former Penn State quarterback has the "right kind of chip," according to the Tigers coach.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Beau Pribula celebrates after converting a first down against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula begins the second act of his career with a "chip on his shoulder," Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. The Tigers head coach also told reporters at SEC Football Media Days on Thursday that Pribula possesses the intangibles he seeks in a quarterback.

"Beau came in with the right mindset," Drinkwitz said at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. "Nothing given, everything earned. Works extremely hard developing his craft. He's a guy who spends a lot of extra time up there. Has a chip on his shoulder, the right kind of chip. Does a good job leadership-wise. Worked with him a couple days at Harmons. Impressed with his ability to connect with our team."

Pribula transferred to Missouri in January following a head-spinning week in the NCAA Transfer Portal after he decided to leave Penn State. A York, Pennsylvania, native who spent three seasons with the Nittany Lions, Pribula said he was forced to make an "impossible decision" about leaving Penn State and entered the portal "with a heavy heart."

In a recent interview with former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman, Pribula said he didn't even consider leaving Penn State until the transfer portal opened in December. With quarterback Drew Allar likely to return for a third season, Pribula ultimately decided to pursue a starting spot elsewhere.

"It wasn’t until my family called me," Pribula told Breneman on the Next Up podcast. "My family, my brother, they were like, 'the transfer portal is open right now, and this is all going to happen really fast, and we really think that you should consider transferring. ... You should think about it and you should talk to the coaches.'"

He left his dream school. Had two years left.

And when @beauprib got to Missouri, he flipped the switch:

“I want no regrets. I’m locked in. I’m doing this for me now.”

This new chapter is personal. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6hmJTqjizx

— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) July 17, 2025

At SEC media days, Drinkwitz did not position Pribula immediately as the starter. Missouri also returns redshirt junior Sam Horn, who missed the 2024 football season after having Tommy John surgery. Horn also pitches for the Missouri baseball team and recently was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round.

Missouri also has freshman quarterback Matt Zollers, a Pennsylvania native who Penn State recruited. Drinkwitz said that Zollers, who is returning from ankle surgery, "throws it as well as any quarterback I've ever seen."

"Very excited about that room and know whoever ends up emerging as the quarterback is going to be in a really good position because he doesn't have to do it all by himself," Drinkwitz said of the competition. "He's going to have a really good defense. He's got a great supporting cast around him."

Drinkwitz said that Pribula fit Missouri based on four key traits: "focus, intangibles, talent and tough." Drinkwitz also said he has no "reservations" about Pribula as a passer, even though Pribula didn't throw downfield often at Penn State. In two seasons playing at Penn State, Pribula averaged 7.6 yards per attempt.

"As a program, as an offense, you have to design to a quarterback's strengths," Drinkwitz said. "I don't think when you watch the tape, there's not an inability for Beau to throw, he just didn't quite have the opportunities. I would say after this spring, I'm as confident as ever that Beau is a very talented passer. I don't really have any reservations about that."

Drinkwitz further told a story about Pribula's recruiting process, which moved fast. "If you have somebody on campus, you have to close them pretty quickly," Drinkwitz said.

"I will give a lot of credit to Beau and his maturity," Drinkwitz said. "He had a process that he wanted to go through. He wanted to see three different schools and then make a decision. We made an impression.

"Quick story about Beau. We went and ate dinner that night. I drove him back to the hotel that night, dropped him off. We sat in the deal and talked for about 20 minutes. I looked, he walked in, he walked around. I dropped him off at the wrong hotel. So he had to come back out, got in the car, went to the other one in town. I'm not sure what he thinks about my intelligence level, but it was good enough to get him to play for us."