Former Penn State QB Beau Pribula positions himself as James Franklin’s biggest rival

Beau Pribula’s two trips to the Transfer Portal have made plenty of waves in college football. In December 2024, Pribula became the most high-profile example of a player leaving a College Football Playoff team for the portal, ultimately landing at Missouri. 

Then, this offseason, after one year starting for the Tigers, Pribula was an even hotter commodity, connected to Penn State, Tennessee, and even James Franklin’s Virginia Tech Hokies. Ultimately, however, the former Nittany Lion ended up on the other side of The Commonwealth Clash as his former head coach’s biggest rival at Virginia. 

Beau Pribula commits to Virginia for his final season of eligibility

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Pribula committed to Virginia on Monday. Franklin’s interest in a reunion ostensibly ended with Penn State transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer expected to follow Franklin to Blacksburg. Then, over the weekend, Franklin added another quarterback, North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker. 

So, with Rocco Becht locked in as Matt Campbell’s starter in Happy Valley, Pribula seemingly honed in on UVA and Tennessee as his potential landing spots. Tennessee, though the Volunteers are getting desperate with Sam Leavitt going to LSU, Dylan Raiola committing to Oregon, and Ty Simpson opting for the NFL draft, never made sense as a fit. Josh Heupel’s offense can certainly utilize Pribula’s dual-threat skillset, but is predicated on the downfield passing game, which was Pribula’s biggest deficiency in lone season as an SEC starter. 

That made Virginia the obvious choice for Pribula, with veteran Chandler Morris out of eligibility and denied a waiver to extend his college football career. Virginia is eager to build on its 11-3 season in 2025 under Tony Elliot, and to keep the edge over the Hokies, who made the biggest offseason splash in the ACC by landing Franklin. 

This season, Virginia beat Virginia Tech for the first time since 2019. The Cavaliers have not beaten the Hokies in Blacksburg, where they’ll play in 2026, since 1998, and trail the all-time series with a 39-62-5 record. 

Heading into the CFP in 2024, many Penn State fans would have figured that eventually, either in 2025 or 2026, Pribula would be Franklin’s starting quarterback in Happy Valley. Certainly, nobody would have thought that in just two years, Pribula would be on his third team and Franklin would be preparing for his first season with a new program.