Pribula may not be the 'Chosen One' at QB, but he still has to be ready for Lions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Beau knows this: He has to be ready. At all times.

There's a chance that Beau Pribula may never accomplish a whole lot during his Penn State career. He is, after all, the backup quarterback to the Chosen One, Drew Allar, the guy who just about everybody believes could become a superstar over the next two years.

If that happens, Pribula will barely see the field aside from mop-up duty for at least two years, then maybe hope for two years to compete for the starting job himself.

But there's always a chance. One play. If something happens to Allar, then Pribula could find himself taking over as Penn State's starting quarterback at any point.

Pribula already knows that, in everything he does, he must prepare himself to be ready to play at a moment's notice.

"You always prepare -- if you're the starter or if you're the fourth string -- I always prepare as if I am the starter," Pribula said. "So that's really the only way that I prepare."

There were rumblings last season that Pribula had taken over as the third-string quarterback behind Sean Clifford and Allar, beating out Christian Veilleux. Penn State doesn't release a depth chart, so there's no way to know where Pribula and Veilleux stood, but with Veilleux transferring to Pitt, it's clear now that Pribula is the backup.

And it's also already clear that he's working his butt off to try and be more than that -- not just settling for what everybody sees as the inevitable of him being behind Allar.

The Nittany Lions held their second winter workout Thursday, and for the second straight session, Pribula was the top performer among the quarterbacks.

Allar may have a significant advantage over Pribula when it comes to all-around skill set, but coaches love guys who work their tail off trying to maximize any opportunity they can get.

Pribula came to Penn State from Central York High School, where he was a 3-star recruit and the No. 27 quarterback prospect in the country, according to 247Sports. It just so happened that Allar was No. 1 on that list.

Pribula has spent the past year working to improve in every possible area.

"Being in this program for a full year now, you can't be at a program like Penn State and just not get better in every aspect," Pribula said. "Whether that's in the film room or physically, strength in the weight room, or just being a quarterback in general, it's really helped. And being under Sean, a veteran, and a coach like Coach (Mike) Yurcich, I feel like I've gotten a lot better in the past year."

In what ways, specifically, has he improved?

"The physical part is natural," Pribula said. "You always get better physically, there's always room for growth. But really, I want to put an emphasis on the film room. High school to college is a lot different mentally. You have a lot more to focus on, whether it's protections or reading coverages, and the X's and O's sort of part.

"So, I think I've really taken that and really tried to grind on it, because that's probably the biggest change from high school and something I really wanted to get better at, and I think I definitely have improved in that area."

While running the scout team last year, Pribula was able to go up against Penn State's outstanding first-string defense.

"I enjoyed being able to go against our defense, because our defense was one of the best defenses in the country," he said. "Being able to learn and just kind of sit back and go against the defense at different speeds and give them a look, I enjoyed doing it, and I think I got better doing it."

There's only one other scholarship quarterback on the roster -- true freshman Jaxon Smolik -- so Penn State will lean heavily on two guys in Allar and Pribula who have only been in college for one year apiece.

Allar needs Pribula to push him. Every day. Even if Allar is way ahead of Pribula -- and we don't know that for sure -- but if that is the case, then it still will be up to Pribula to keep working hard and at least show the coaches there could be another capable option if needed.

In that regard, Pribula and Allar are teammates who are pulling for each other, but they also need to learn from one another so both can improve, for the sake of the team.

"My relationship with Drew is really good," Pribula said. "We came in together, both early enrollees, both quarterbacks, we connected right away because we have a lot of similarities. I would say we're really good friends, and we help each other out a lot and we compete against each other."

Both young quarterbacks were able to learn a lot from Clifford last year, with Pribula calling the elder statesman an "older brother figure."

"He really helped me out mentally with the game," Pribula said. "Physically, if I ever needed anything ... Sean was always there to help me out, especially thinking back at last year at this time when I first got here, and he really took me under his wing and I really, really thank him for that.

"Sean left, but having his presence for a whole year, both me and Drew were able to experience that," Pribula added. "It's super big because we learned from him and he was a four-year captain, I mean, he was a tremendous leader. And I think we've really soaked those qualities in."