ALTOONA, Pa. -- No. That's the short, easy answer to the loaded question in the headline.
There is not a quarterback competition at Penn State.
But I've been asked that question at least a dozen times by Nittany Lion fans, the latest coming in my Live Qs Thursday. So, there does seem to be a perception from some that Beau Pribula actually might be able to beat out Drew Allar for the job.
Let's dive into it to start this week's spring edition of the Friday top 5.
1. Is the starting QB job up for grabs?
I'm gonna repeat part of what I wrote Thursday:
No.
It's Allar.
All the way.
Let's not kid ourselves here. Pribula is a nice player. Allar is a freaking stud who many people believe will be a high draft pick.
The Lions have a chance to compete for a national title the next two years because of Allar.
The whole thing with Pribula is making sure they have a capable backup.
I'm not trying to dis Beau. There have been lesser-known QBs who have gone on to success at PSU (Matt McGloin, Trace McSorley).
But one of these guys is seen as a future superstar, and the other was a 3-star recruit who has a nice skill set.
The issue I encounter here is that, in praising Allar and his potential, it inevitably will sound like I'm dismissing Pribula. That's not the intention, at all. Because again, let me bring up McGloin and McSorley.
I've covered Penn State football for 17 years. You know who my two favorite players were to cover?
McGloin and McSorley.
McGloin was a zero-star recruit. McSorley was recruited as a safety by everybody except for James Franklin, first at Vanderbilt then to Penn State.
Those two guys overcame all kinds of adversity just to get on the field for the Lions. Then, lo and behold, both of them went on to start in the NFL (McGloin seven times, McSorley once last season).
You know who never started in the NFL? Christian Hackenberg. Or Anthony Morelli. Or Pat Devlin. Or Kevin Newsome. Or Paul Jones. Or Rob Bolden.
All those guys were 4-star or 5-star recruits, and yet none of them ever even played a single snap in an NFL regular-season game.
Point is, I would never dismiss someone like Beau Pribula just because he was only a 3-star guy.
But the reality is that, if Pribula is challenging Allar for the starting job -- either now or in the next couple of years -- then something will have gone terribly wrong. It would mean that Allar will have struggled to the point where he would need to be benched, or that he maybe suffered some kind of injury.
Yes, Franklin keeps talking about Pribula a good bit, And yes, the two are splitting first-team reps, with Franklin saying at one point that Pribula actually might be getting more reps than Allar.
Some people may be reading into it that there's a competition to start. But it's really all about making sure that Pribula is fully ready to go, just in case something happens with Allar. All of Penn State's eggs for the next two years are being put into the Allar basket by most people, but the coaches have to be prepared for any and all situations, so Pribula needs to be tested and challenged and prepared just in case.
No one is or should be expecting the No. 1 QB recruit in the country to struggle, but the bottom line is that a whole bunch of highly rated QBs do in fact struggle. We've seen it time and again at Penn State, with those guys mentioned up above.
So sure, it's possible we could see Pribula get an opportunity at some point if Allar doesn't live up to expectations. But no, that doesn't mean he's actually and realistically competing for the starting job right now.
2. Blue-White Game just two weeks away
Having said all that above, I am very much looking forward to seeing what Pribula can do in the spring game on April 15.
Penn State has only three QBs -- freshman Jaxon Smolik is the third -- so we can expect a heavy dose of Allar and Pribula. We already know what Allar is capable of, and he will be the primary focus of everybody in the Blue-White Game.
But it will be interesting to see how advanced Pribula is throwing the ball, because again, he could be pressed into action at any point and needs to be capable of leading the offense. Most of what we hear about Pribula seems to be about his athleticism and running skills -- like Tommy Stevens and Will Levis in recent years -- but we need to see what he can do with his arm.
To that end, both QBs need somebody to throw to, so the wide receivers will be a focus of the Blue-White Game, as well.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace III have separated themselves as the top two receivers, Franklin said, so it'll be good to find out what some of the other young wideouts can do. Malik McClain, in particular, looked good catching passes during Sean Clifford's pro day, so keep your eyes on the Florida State transfer.
Oh, and don't forget, Dante Cephas is still set to arrive in a couple of months from Kent State, which will alleviate a lot of the wide receiver concerns.
3. Some final thoughts on the Mike Rhoades hire
I really like the hire.
It is not a home run hire. That's not to suggest that Rhoades isn't a really good coach or anything of the sort. It's just that -- and I've said this for the past week -- Rhoades was the best guy they could hire right now, with a quick turnaround based on the circumstances.
Will Rhoades be one of the best coaches in the Big Ten? Probably not. The league has a bunch of good ones.
Will Rhoades have success right off the bat? Probably not. The roster is in turmoil right now, and year one could be pretty bad unless he's able to land some real studs from the transfer portal.
But this is a Pennsylvania guy who seems to actually want to be at Penn State and stay there for a long time, and I believe he will have success -- eventually. It might take a couple of years for him to get the program where he wants it, and when he does, it should produce some occasional NCAA Tournament appearances.
Can he get to the dance ever year? No. I just don't see that for Penn State basketball, really ever.
But if he can get there twice in a five-year span or four times in a decade, then he will have succeeded. Anything more than that, and he would be a freaking miracle worker.
4. What a great winter for Penn State athletics
The basketball team made the NCAA Tournament and won a game.
The wrestling team won another national title.
The hockey team came oh so close to reaching the Frozen Four, losing in overtime in the regional final.
The women's hockey team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
That's what you call a fantastic winter sports season, the best Penn State has ever had in those four sports at the same time.
5. What a crazy NCAA Tournament
I picked Kansas to win it all and also had Purdue in my Final Four. My bracket was shot right away, and it was probably my worst bracket ever.
To have a Final Four of FAU, San Diego State, Miami and UConn is flat out nuts. Nobody higher than a 4 seed, plus FAU as a 9 seed.
It's easy to sit here and say we're going to see a lot of this kind of stuff going forward in the tournament during the transfer portal era. There is so much parity, and lots of teams around the country are really good nowadays, while the number of great teams is very small.
But I still have to think that this year's tournament will be the exception, not the norm. To think that not a single team seeded 1-3 made the Final Four is ridiculous. Yes, we will continue to see some mid and lower seeds get this far in the future, but I doubt we will have too many situations where there's not at least one major program that's a high seed get to the Final Four.
My pick to win it all at this point is UConn. The Huskies have been the best team in the tournament so far, and Danny Hurley has done a tremendous job since taking over the program.
Congrats to our Corey Crisan for picking UConn to make the Final Four. I poked fun at him for it, but he got the last laugh here. Then again, he also picked UCSB to beat Baylor in the first round, so ... some mocking is still in order.
But hey, my bracket was horrid, so I can't be poking fun at anybody.
