Few people were as excited to play for Andy Kotelnicki as Beau Pribula.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback comes into his third season with Penn State football in his second year as the team’s backup. Like everyone else on the Nittany Lions’ roster, it’ll be Pribula’s first playing for Penn State’s new offensive coordinator.

Penn State’s quarterback situation presents different challenges compared to most across the nation. The Nittany Lions’ recruiting class of 2022 brought in two quarterbacks, the three-star Pribula and the five-star Drew Allar. From day one, Allar has been either the presumed future starter or the confirmed starter. Pribula has always been the backup, despite some considerable upside.

Still, Penn State’s been able to use Pribula as a secondary quarterback and hasn’t just let him rot on the bench. While Pribula didn’t get as many reps as he may have liked last season, Kotelnicki’s arrival seemed to have changed his approach to his role with the Nittany Lions.

“When you watch just the Kansas film from the last two years, Beau was pretty excited,” head coach James Franklin said Saturday. “But when you look at over 19 years, Buffalo, different types of quarterbacks, and just the overall knowledge of offense, there’s a reason for all those guys in that room to be excited.”

Penn State’s quarterbacks, specifically, have a few points to work on.

The connection between Allar and his wide receivers left a lot to be desired last year. The wide receiver group began the season as one of Penn State’s big question marks. It ended the season infamous.

The offensive line is experiencing plenty of turnover. Only Sal Wormley was a consistent starter last year, and while other linemen have gotten reps at Penn State — or in Nolan Rucci’s case, Wisconsin — that group is full of uncertainty.

Even how Penn State’s quarterbacks are coached is unique. Graduate assistant (GA) Danny O’Brien, who was the team’s quarterbacks coach after the Mike Yurcich firing, is with Allar, Pribula, and the rest of the group “24/7,” Pribula said. One of the most important relationships in the Lasch Building is between Andy Kotelnicki and a 33-year-old GA.

“Drew, obviously, has been able to lean into Danny and has been able to lean into Andy, but I also think some of the things systematically that we are going to do,” Franklin said. “I would say even some of these things we are going to do, you guys are going to look at and say, ‘I don’t know if that’s something I would imagine Drew doing,’ but by him doing just enough of it, it opens up and creates opportunities for other things in our offense and makes us difficult to defend.”

During the offseason, Pribula said, Penn State’s offense has worked to get everyone on the same page. Quarterbacks and wide receivers meet daily before practice now to try and iron out the issues that plagued the team last season.

That same relationship goes for the quarterbacks and the offensive line. In two complex positions, the Nittany Lions have relied on Kotelnicki’s role as a former offensive lineman and former offensive line coach to bridge that gap.

“How do you limit the complication of things for your O-line and for your quarterback?” Franklin said. “You want to try to keep things as simple for those two positions as you possibly can in two positions that are not very simplistic. I think [Kotelnicki’s] done a really good job of that.”

Off- and on-field, both quarterbacks said they’ve gained confidence. Allar said that he’s worked to become a more vocal leader, something Franklin said has been a theme with the whole offense. Whether he’s communicating with players or coaches, Allar wants his voice to be heard and to matter.

“I want to be on the same page as all the players and then be that communicator between the players and coaching staff, and coaching staff and the players, relaying whatever message I need to do, and just being open and honest with my thoughts of philosophy, offense, my likes and dislikes on plays because that’s important,” Allar said.

“That’s one of the big things I’m really taking the heart right now. Experimenting in practice and if I don’t feel right with either the footwork, the timing and the route, the depth of the route, or just the protection in general, being open and honest. And that’s allowing me to just learn more about football and having really good conversations in our quarterback room and just allowing anybody to step up and ask questions.”

Pribula said that as a quarterback and veteran, he’s tried to assert himself as a leader. In Kotelnicki’s offense, he’s found himself as an important cog in the Nittany Lions’ machine.

No matter what role he plays for the Nittany Lions, Pribula said he’s happy to do it. Pribula found a place for himself at Penn State during spring practice. As fall ball rolls on, he’s ready to do whatever his team needs.

“That’s always what I’ve wanted to be in any way to help the offense,” Pribula said. “Whether I’m at quarterback, receiver, running back, anything that I can do, I’m willing to do it just to help our offense be successful.”