Penn State Has a 'True Competition' at Quarterback, James Franklin Says
Penn State will field a new starting quarterback this season for the first time since 2019, which means competitive reps during spring practice for Drew Allar and Beau Pribula. But could the Lions begin developing a package this spring for Pribula pointed toward getting him on the field next fall?
Coach James Franklin didn't want to go too far down that road Tuesday, when the Lions opened spring drills. But Franklin acknowledge that he and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will test-drive Pribula this spring to determine how they might best deploy him next season.
"There could be some situations where Beau actually gets more reps by the end of spring because I think there’s some things that we may want to do with Beau to take advantage of his skill set and maybe create an opportunity for him to get some more experience, not only during spring ball but in games next year as well," Franklin said. "So we’ll see how that all plays out."
Allar and Pribula turn toward a critical spring in which they will compete to replace Sean Clifford as Penn State's starting quarterback. Allar is the top seed, having played in eight games last season as the backup. But Yurcich has cautioned that Pribula won't cede the starting role easily, calling the quarterback's competitiveness "as good as I've ever been around."
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Franklin said that Penn State begins spring drills planning to provide Allar, Pribula and true freshman Jaxon Smolik an even number of quarterback reps. But the coaching staff will chart Allar and Pribula's reps closely to make sure both get a proper workload.
"Right now, it’s starting out even reps across the board for all three of them and then, obviously specific to Beau and Drew, really making sure that we protect those two guys’ reps as much as we possibly can," Franklin said.
But Penn State also has a unique opportunity with Allar and Pribula, considering how different they are as athletes. Allar is 6-5, 242 pounds and "looks like a defensive end right now," as strength coach Chuck Losey said in early March. Pribula, meanwhile, is 6-2, 206 with more speed and elusiveness.
"Beau is kind of an elite person and elite athlete when it comes to speed, strength and power," Losey said as winter workouts concluded. "So I think the combination of having Drew, who was probably behind the curve [regarding strength training] when he first got here, and having somebody like Beau in the same room and in the same class really benefited Drew."
It also has benefited Pribula, who has a chance to compete not only for the starting job but also for a role of his own. Franklin wasn't ready to state outright that he and Yurcich are developing a Pribula-specific offensive package. "Before practice has even started, it's hard to say that," Franklin said.
However, the coach did note that Penn State will explore ways to harness Pribula's skills on the field.
"Beau has got some athletic traits that are desirable and maybe make sense for us to use if they give us the best chance to win," Franklin said. "... I do think there’s a little bit different dynamic based on Sean and Drew’s skill sets, [which] were probably more similar than they were different, where I think maybe the differences between Drew and Beau may be a little bit more dramatic."
Penn State has two dynamic young quarterbacks but only three on scholarship, so getting Allar, Pribula and Smolik experience is instrumental this spring. Ultimately, Franklin said, that's the primary goal.
"This spring is just to get those guys as many reps as we possibly can to be able to evaluate them, to create a competition and to also create depth," Franklin said. "I do think if you look at last year, we had a very specific plan to get Drew as many reps as we possibly could to build that depth and to build that experience, so if we needed him he was ready but also to help us this year moving forward.
"This year’s a little bit different because we’re back to kind of having a true competition again."
Penn State concludes spring drills with the Blue-White Game on April 15 at Beaver Stadium.
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