Missouri football quarterback Beau Pribula to enter transfer portal
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Beau Pribula’s time in Columbia will be just one season.
Pribula, the Tigers’ starting quarterback, intends to enter the transfer portal, a Missouri football team spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Thursday morning. The news was first reported by PowerMizzou and 247Sports.
The QB is the eighth Missouri player to announce their intention to transfer this upcoming month.
Pribula made waves last offseason when he left Penn State before a College Football Playoff run, seeking out starting opportunities as the Nittany Lions announced that starter Drew Allar would return in 2025.
He eventually landed on Mizzou, with a reported NIL figure above $1 million to play in Columbia.
Pribula did not earn the starting job right away. He battled in spring and fall camp with returner Sam Horn for the QB1 role. The competition went into the Tigers’ Week 1 game against Central Arkansas, when Horn sustained a leg injury that ultimately ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
That meant the starting job went to Pribula, and while he showed some encouraging signs against weaker opposition, some offseason concerns reared as the schedule got harder.
Pribula struggled to stretch the field with his arm. The passing game was mostly ineffective. Missouri’s passing offense in the regular season ranked No. 109 out of 136 FBS teams.
As the starter, he finished his lone season at Missouri with 1,941 passing yards (194.1 per game), 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 10 games. He rushed for 297 yards (29.7 per game) and six TDs.
But, ultimately, it was his much-heralded athleticism and ability to run the ball that cost the Tigers their College Football Playoff hopes.
Pribula sustained a “non-fractured dislocated ankle” against Vanderbilt on Oct. 25 on a goal line quarterback draw. He missed the remainder of that game, which Mizzou lost, and the next two contests, when Mizzou went 1-1.
He made a stunning return less than a month later in the Tigers’ game at Oklahoma — well ahead of every anticipated timeline for a return. Mizzou struggled on offense in Norman and leaned heavily on the run game in regular-season finale in Arkansas.
That brought around an offseason question: What is next at quarterback?
We now have a clearer picture of Missouri’s plans.
Horn, a talented right-handed pitcher, is expected to join the Los Angeles Dodgers in January after signing with the team after a late-round MLB Draft pick.
Pribula is now headed to the portal, and a return to Penn State is not out of the picture.
That leaves Missouri with Matt Zollers as a scholarship returner.
Zollers flashed the potential that made head coach Eli Drinkwitz call him “the future of the program at the quarterback position” as he took the reins while Pribula and Horn were injured — well ahead of any anticipated schedule for his first collegiate action.
He also made some freshman errors and looked like he needed more time to develop to become a successful SEC starter.
Zollers will be joined by true freshman signing Gavin Sidwar, who will join the team in January.
Mizzou will almost certainly head to the portal. It will be intriguing to see if Mizzou chases a starting-caliber player or depth behind Zollers.
There is also the question of a new offensive coordinator hire. Will the new play caller want to bring in his own quarterback?
It’s now all on the table, as Pribula’s one-and-done stint in town is seemingly up.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football starting QB Beau Pribula to enter transfer portal
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