Beau Pribula finally has the kind of runway he was looking for.
Virginia announced Saturday that the former Penn State quarterback has won the Cavaliers’ starting job, beating out Pitt transfer Eli Holstein for QB1. Pribula arrived in Charlottesville after one season at Missouri, following three years in Happy Valley.
For Pribula, this is the latest turn in a college career that never quite opened up at Penn State. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2022 and spent the next stretch behind now Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar, who held the spotlight as the Nittany Lions’ starter.
By the end of the 2024 season, just before Penn State began its College Football Playoff run, former head coach James Franklin and Pribula agreed that a transfer was the best move. Pribula entered the portal without having been part of a CFP win with Penn State and landed at Missouri.
The stop with the Tigers gave him real game reps. Pribula started all 10 games he played in, dealt with an ankle injury in October, then returned after being medically cleared before the season ended. He finished the year with a 67.4 completion percentage, 1,941 passing yards and 11 touchdowns on 182 completions.
Now he gets another chance, this time in the ACC, where Virginia is trying to build on an 11-3 season. The Cavaliers have not had a double-digit win season since 1989, and they last finished above .500 in 2019 at 9-5.
This wasn’t the first time Pribula had to win a quarterback competition. At Missouri, the job was unsettled for a while, and even in Week 1 Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz used both Pribula and Sam Horn to figure out which option fit best. Drinkwitz said he made the call based on game action rather than offseason or fall camp work.
Virginia moved more quickly. Holstein, who transferred from Pitt, will serve as the primary backup in 2026. He is listed as a senior on Virginia’s roster, redshirted his true freshman year at Alabama in 2023 and spent two seasons with the Panthers.
Pribula’s departure from Penn State hit hard for fans who watched the Pennsylvania native leave without getting a full shot to prove himself in State College. His season at Missouri gave the Nittany Lion faithful something to feel good about, and that support figures to follow him into the ACC.
There is also one more notable date on the schedule: Virginia and Virginia Tech are set to play Nov. 28, which will put Pribula against former Penn State head coach James Franklin in the regular-season finale.
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