It’s only been a month since James Franklin unpacked his bags at the Virginia Tech Hokies. And he is already spotting daylight in the transfer portal. A year after Beau Pribula walked away from the Penn State Nittany Lions to chase opportunity, he is back on the move following a brief Missouri Tigers stint. Franklin is leading the charge to make the reunion happen.

As per On3’s Pete Nakos, Pribula’s name is now doing the rounds as one of the quarterbacks who announced their intentions to hit the transfer portal. 

“The former Penn State transfer has a relationship with James Franklin, among other staff members,” wrote Nakos. 

Franklin counted on Drew Allar to run the show at Penn State last season. Even then, Pribula was the spark plug in Penn State’s 2024 attack. He matched the team’s second-best mark with six rushing scores and ranked third in carries and rushing yards. This gave first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki a versatile weapon under center.

Pribula got his biggest run in October and delivered against Wisconsin. He stepped in for an injured Allar. A heroic feat followed: 11-of-13 for 98 yards and a score while tacking on 28 yards on the ground.

“The current NCAA post-season model creates a challenge for student-athletes,” the former quarterback dropped a heartbreaker in December 2024. “The overlapping CFB playoff & transfer portal timeline has forced me into an impossible decision.”

Pribula transferred last season from Penn State after finding himself stuck behind returning starter Allar on the 2025 depth chart. However, that did not tarnish his bond with Franklin. The quarterback chose to have an open conversation with his then-head coach. 

“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,” said Franklin after Pribula’s statement to hit the portal. 

The quarterback has indeed been lucky since his transfer decision was accepted gladly by his teammates. They wished nothing but the best for Pribula, even though he chose to swap wagons right before the playoffs. 

Even Franklin lent his helping hand and was willing to go to great lengths to help Pribula choose a school that was the best fit for him. On the July 10 episode of the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, the Missouri quarterback shared about a heartwarming incident. 

“Coach Franklin was so supportive,” recalled the quarterback. “He was like, ‘Listen, I can reach out to these coaches for you, any school that you’re interested in. I’ll tell them that, ‘He’s a great fit for you. He’s thinking about transferring, but he wants to finish the playoffs first, so he’s not going to officially enter the transfer portal.’’”

This December, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz finds himself in the same spot as Franklin was last year. As Pribula has already hit the exit door, freshman backup Matt Zollers would start in the Gator Bowl against the Virginia Cavaliers on December 27.

That sets up the big portal question: does Pribula run it back with his former program, or hitch his wagon to his old coach in a new zip code?

Landing Beau Pribula is not a one-team race

Pribula has one year to play, and no recruiting connection to Penn State coach Matt Campbell. But the pull of a potential homecoming remains strong. The homecoming angle is fueled by comments he made this summer to an analyst and former Nittany Lion, Adam Breneman.

Pribula was on a recruiting trip to Ole Miss. However, he still had one eye on Penn State’s first-round playoff game against the SMU Mustangs. He couldn’t help but celebrate when former teammate Dom DeLuca took an interception to the house.

“I can’t just sit here while my guys are playing,” Pribula told Breneman. “It was tough.”

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Though he transferred out of Penn State, Pribula never fully cut ties with State College. Over the summer, he bought into a townhouse development near the State College Regional Airport alongside Breneman, with York-based Inch & Co.

Enter Virginia Tech. The Hokies loom as a logical landing spot for Pribula thanks to his ties with Franklin. Virginia Tech is set to have a new starting quarterback in 2026, and the entire quarterback room could be flipped once the portal opens in January. 

That turnover began when Garret Rangel became the first Hokie under Franklin to announce his plans to enter the transfer portal. However, other pursuers might land Pribula.

With Carson Beck out of eligibility, Mario Cristobal is hunting for a new starting quarterback. The Miami Hurricanes have Emory Williams, Luke Nickel, and Judd Anderson in the room, but if the Hurricanes want to stay in the playoff hunt, a veteran signal-caller feels like the play.

Now it’s a waiting game to see whether James Franklin’s wish for a Beau Pribula reunion becomes reality.