Kirk Herbstreit questions Beau Pribula leaving Penn State early

Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula decided to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal over the weekend, causing a stir throughout college football and catching the attention of Kirk Herbstreit.

Pribula seemed to be the starting quarterback in waiting for the Nittany Lions, but with Drew Allar pried to return to Happy Valley in 2025, he’s looking for opportunity elsewhere. The unfortunate twist is that Pribula won’t be with his Penn State teammates for the College Football Playoff due to entering the portal, which has called into question the current calendar for how college football operates.

During an appearance on this week’s edition of Pardon My Take for Barstool Sports, Herbstreit gave his take on Primula’s decision, and whether he believes it’s part of a larger problem that college football currently faces.

“We’ve been talking about this for so long, you know, how nutty this is,” Herbstreit started. “I’s easy to blame the players. I think it’s easy to look at it like, ‘How selfish are these guys?’ But I think, if you put yourself in their shoes, I think the calendar and the way it’s set up is difficult. I don’t know Beau’s case, because I know Preston Stone and there’s some other guys that have entered the portal, but they’re staying with their team in the Playoff, like at SMU, getting ready. I don’t know why he felt the need to be able to enter the portal, but then leave. Maybe you guys can help me with that. I don’t understand that aspect of his specific story on why he’s leaving the team. I guess maybe he felt he had to go visit these schools to be able to really get a good handle on where he wanted to go. I have no idea.

“I know it’s a little bit of a revolving door, especially at that position, when it comes to the portal. Some of these guys are trying to kind of be re-recruited, like they’re high school seniors again, to try to figure out where’s the best fit for them. So maybe he felt, before someone else takes the spot that he wants, he needs to go visit while his team’s playing in these Playoff games. He needs to go visit these schools. That’s the only thing I can think of why he left the team.”

Regardless, Pribula missing from the Playoff will be a huge loss for Penn State, as he appeared in every game this season, with a package of plays to throw a different look at opposing defenses. He largely made plays with his legs, rushing for 230 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season. He also added 275 passing yards and five touchdowns through 12 games ahead of the Big Ten Championship.

He’ll be a hot name in the transfer portal, and Beau Pribula is only doing what’s best for his future. Unfortunately, the timing and the college football calendar aren’t working in his favor, and that’s something Kirk Herbstreit hopes to see rectified in the future.