Urban Meyer states Beau Pribula transfer situation 'broke my heart'

Urban Meyer was burning with indignation regarding Beau Pribula entering the transfer portal while Penn State prepares for the College Football Playoff, but he recognizes it’s not the quarterback’s fault.

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 teammates for the Playoff due to entering the portal, which has called into question the current calendar for how college football operates.

During this week’s edition of The Triple Option, the former college football coach gave his opinion on the situation as a whole. While he doesn’t blame Pribula for his decision, it burns him up inside seeing him forced to abandon the Nittany Lions during their most important stretch of the season.

“I almost fell out when I saw that,” Meyer said, regarding Pribula’s situation. “This kid’s a hell of a player, man. I don’t know him, but I heard Coach Franklin talk about him. We covered their games. They say he’s always wanted to be a Nittany Lion. I mean, this guy’s a good player, and [this news] just broke my heart. What I can’t imagine — imagine if Drew Aller goes down? … And people want to throw him under the bus. I’m not doing that at all. I don’t know the whole [situation]. I know the portal opens — I think this is important, on December 9th, it opened. On December 28th, it closes. So that means that this player has got to start looking into other schools. If Penn State — I wish you would have waited one more game. And once again, I don’t understand all this. … I’m sick because — to see a player walk out and to leave a team, as they’re getting ready to do something possibly historic.

“Penn State’s got the best path to make a run at this thing. They play SMU. They play Boise. They’ll be favored in both games, obviously. And God forbid, Drew Aller grabs an ankle. I don’t know if their third string quarterback is. I don’t know. Maybe they got a Cardale Jones like we had hanging around back there. Probably not. So I’m heartbroken. Of all the good things going on this year, about the Playoff, about the just the quality of product on the field, actually some parity, all this. Then all of a sudden, that? I don’t know.”

As Meyer alluded to, Pribula missing from Penn State will be a huge loss for the team, regardless of any potential injury to the aforementioned Allar, 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.

Time will tell what the future holds for Pribula and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the College Football Playoff, but Meyer believes the quarterback was forced to make a decision he shouldn’t have had to, and that’s what really gets to him about the way college football operates in 2024.