On Oct. 12, James Franklin was fired by the Penn State Nittany Lions after leading the program as head coach for over a decade, consistently keeping them among the Big Ten’s most prominent programs.
However, three consecutive losses in a season with extremely high expectations proved to be the final straw for Penn State AD Pat Kraft. The program has since hired Matt Campbell as the next head coach, bringing him over from Iowa State.
Franklin quickly landed another head coaching job with the Virginia Tech Hokies, moving to the ACC and already flipping several recruits he had originally brought to Penn State.
With the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2, Franklin and the Hokies could be in line to pursue former Penn State quarterback and recent Missouri Tigers star Beau Pribula, according to Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus.
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Pribula was recruited by Franklin and spent both his freshman and sophomore seasons as a backup at Happy Valley before ultimately departing for Missouri prior to last season’s College Football Playoff.
He totaled nine touchdowns across his two seasons with the Nittany Lions and was primarily used as a rusher behind starting quarterback Drew Allar.
However, Franklin made it clear that Pribula didn’t want to leave early, but given the current landscape of college football, he had little choice if he wanted to maximize his transfer opportunities.
“We’ve got problems in college football, and I can give you my word: Beau Pribula did not want to leave our program, and he did not want to leave our program until the end of the season,” Franklin said in December 2024.
There is a possibility that Pribula could also consider a return to the Nittany Lions, but he would be joining a completely different program than the one that recruited him over three years ago.
The Hokies will be in the market for a quarterback after Kyron Drones exhausted his eligibility this past season, and Pribula would certainly be a major candidate to fill that role in Franklin’s first year at the helm.
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