Beau Pribula takes red-zone snaps at QB over Drew Allar vs. Maryland

The Penn State Nittany Lions have jumped out to a 21-7 first-half lead over the Maryland Terrapins. The offense has been struggling under Drew Allar this season, so James Franklin has started to give his backup quarterback, Beau Pribula opportunities in the red zone.

Drew Allar threw his first career interception against Indiana last week but has started hot against Maryland. In the first half, he went 13/16 for 124 yards and three touchdowns. The Nittany Lions are 12th on the season in red zone scoring rate at 93.33% but are getting creative against the Terps.

Pribula is more a runner and his first snap was a designed quarterback run. He was stopped after tripping in the backfield. The next snap, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich sent Allar back out but kept Pribula on the field and the Nittany Lions converted on the play above.

It looked like the experiment was over, but as the end of the first half neared, Penn State reached the red zone again and Pribula came back out on the field. Again, he rushed the ball and again was stopped in the backfield.

For the first half, Pribula has just two carries for -1 yards. The coaching staff could be losing faith in Allar’s ability to convert red zone trips into touchdowns. He came into the game with 16 touchdown passes and the Nittany Lions were 14th in points per game in the country.

On the other hand, Penn State could just be giving the Michigan coaching staff, and whoever is replacing Connor Stallions as their scout in College Park today, a different look to prepare for.

Pribula is 6 for 13 passing this season for 75 yards and has run for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries.