James Franklin: ‘Healthy competition’ brewing between Drew Allar, Beau Pribula

Penn State football is now in the back half of spring practice, rapidly approaching the Blue-White Game on April 13. Unlike last spring, there’s no mystery that Drew Allar is the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions heading into 2024. But that doesn’t mean the intensity is ramping down any. This week, James Franklin spoke about the development of his young quarterbacks, including the “healthy competition” that exists between Allar and backup Beau Pribula.

James Franklin: Drew Allar, Beau Pribula have formed “healthy competition” on practice field

Whether it was real or just the company line, James Franklin was adamant that there was a quarterback competition between Drew Allar and Beau Pribula for the starting role last fall. This spring, Allar enters as the unquestioned starter and one of the emerging leaders of the Penn State football program.

But by all accounts, the pair is pushing each other as hard as ever. Speaking to the media following spring practice this week, James Franklin provided an update on the progress of the Nittany Lions’ quarterback room.

“It’s been really good,” Franklin said of the development of the quarterbacks. “I think there is clearly a real healthy competition and back and forth between Drew and Beau. That’s been really good. Both have kind of stepped their game up.”

Drew Allar put forth a strong first year as the starter, throwing for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns with only two interceptions. But Beau Pribula provided a valuable spark for the Penn State offense in 2023, throwing for 149 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 329 yards with six scores.

Both quarterbacks will play vital roles for Penn State football in 2024

The remarks from James Franklin this week build upon comments from earlier in the spring regarding the transition of both quarterbacks under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

“I think he’s ready to take the next step,” Franklin said of Drew Allar. “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.

“Then 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.”

For his part, 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,” he said last week.

We likely won’t see too much variety from Kotelnicki in next month’s spring game, especially when it comes to quarterback usage. But known for getting creative in the backfield while calling plays at Kansas, expect to see both Allar and Pribula have critical roles for Penn State this fall.

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