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Penn State open practice highlights

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•03/29/23•

ThomasFrankCarr

Drew Allar Penn State Football On3
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar leads the team through drills in just about every situation. All signs point to the second-year quarterback taking the job this spring. (Photo: Dan Althouse/BWI)

Penn State football held open practice on Tuesday and Blue White Illustrated was there to get you inside access. Check out our open practice highlights on YouTube and subscribe so you don’t miss any great spring coverage!

Penn State’s no-drama QB competition

Today we’re checking in on the Penn State quarterback battle between last year’s backup Drew Allar and third-string QB Beau Pribula. It’s a camp battle that has been top of mind, but not exactly in the way you’d expect from a quarterback competition. Just about everyone outside of the Penn State football facility assumes that Drew Allar is the clear starter. Yet every time head coach James Franklin talks about the pair he mentions Pribula more,

“I would say they have both gotten reps with the ones, which has been good. You know, they’re different styles of quarterbacks. I think that’s one of the things we’re going to have to do a good job with during the season. It’s not like we can just come up with one exact same game plan because they are different types of quarterbacks. But I would say the majority of what they do is similar. They’re both cerebral guys, and they’ve both got high football IQs. They both really work at it. Obviously, Beau’s got a little more on an element with his feet.”

That doesn’t mean the passing game isn’t a concern

True to form, there’s no mention of who is ahead, or who is behind; just talking about how both players are good. As you can tell, Pribula’s athleticism is an easy talking point that the staff can lean on when talking to the media. But make no mistakes, the passing game as a whole is front of mind for Franklin,

“Between now and West Virginia, we’ve got a ton of work still to do. I think just throwing in general; we can’t throw enough with our wide receivers and tight ends and running backs. In seven on seven, routes on air, we can’t throw enough.”

So, will Penn State really try to play both quarterbacks next year? More importantly, who plays quarterback seems like less of a concern compared to the passing game as a whole. Franklin clearly wants to get the kinks worked out with his receivers and quarterbacks as soon as possible, regardless of whoever takes over at the position.

However, we do have some clues as to how things are going. During open practice in the past, the first-string quarterback signals to snap the ball when all quarterbacks are throwing simultaneously. Allar has been giving the signal every time we’ve observed them, just like Sean Clifford last season. So while it’s a limited window, and we have no reason to doubt Franklin that both Allar and Pribula are getting reps with the first team, there are small indications about how things are going. And for once, things may be exactly how you’d think they’re going.

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