Beau Pribula is who? Meet the backup quarterback from Penn State who helped the Nittany Lions defeat Wisconsin.

It had the making of a Hollywood screenplay ending: Beau Pribula gets pulled off the bench by Penn State football coach James Franklin and to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory on the road. And that’s exactly what occurred inside Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Drew Allar was injured shortly before halftime, so the 6-foot-2 quarterback was called off the bench to start the second half. He helped the third-ranked Nittany Lions overcome the Badgers 28–13, preserving Penn State’s perfect season.

“Recently leaving this field with a W. While playing for his hometown squad on Saturday, Pribula told NBC’s Kathryn Tappen, “I didn’t want to let my teammates down.” “We work too hard to give up something like that.”

To overcome a 10-7 halftime deficit, he orchestrated a rather dominant (and clean) second half from the Penn State offense: He completed 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards with a touchdown and added 28 rushing yards. The dual-threat quarterback guided the Nittany Lions to their first Madison victory against Wisconsin since 2011.

Here’s what you need to know about Pribula, who led Penn State to possibly its biggest victory of the season given the circumstances he entered the game with: “My coach Danny O’Brien does a great job of keeping the mindset of preparing as a starter, ” Pribula told Tappen about his mindset before the game. “So it wasn’t really hard. Had to settle in a little bit and my teammates had my back.”

Who is Beau Pribula?

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Pribula, Allar’s backup, is from York, Pennsylvania, about two hours’ drive from Penn State’s campus. He went to Central York High School, where he helped the Panthers win the Pennsylvania District III Title and their first state championship.

According to his Penn State profile page, he was named the state’s Player of the Year each season and guided Central York to consecutive unbeaten regular seasons as a junior and a senior.

Pribula comes from a football-loving family that is full of quarterbacks. Per his Penn State profile, his dad, Tad, played at Shippensburg University while his brother, Cade, was a quarterback at Sacred Heart University. His uncle, Barry Rahn, was a quarterback at USC in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

As an All-American at West Chester University from 1958 to 1962, Pribula’s grandfather Jim is arguably the most well-known member of his football family tree.

After redshirting his actual freshman year, Pribula made his debut at Penn State last season in a backup position. According to Pribula’s Penn State page, while playing as a backup, he still finished third among Big Ten quarterbacks in rushing yards (329) and rushing touchdowns (6).

On Saturday against Wisconsin, he connected with Khalil Dinkins on a 1-yard throw near the goal line, recording his third touchdown pass of the season.

Franklin said after the game on Saturday on NBC, “I couldn’t be more proud of him. A big-time player and he’s unselfish in a time in college football that a lot of guys are selfish.” Prior to Saturday’s game against Wisconsin, Pribula had only ten passing attempts on the season, nine of which came during a resounding victory over Kent State earlier in the season. “He’s a winner. He accepts his role, battling every week to be the starting quarterback.”

Beau Pribula 247 rankings

Star rating: Three-star recruit
National ranking: No. 464
Positional ranking: No. 29 QB
State ranking: No. 14 player in Pennsylvania

After graduating from Central York in York, Pennsylvania, Pribula was not a highly anticipated recruit. He received Power 4 offers from Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and West Virginia in addition to Penn State. According to his 247Sports Composite ranking page, Pribula was rated as a three-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, ranking as the 29th best quarterback in the class and the 14th best prospect in Pennsylvania.