Penn State’s now-former quarterback Beau Pribula attended the team’s practice in State College on Sunday, although he wasn’t actually there. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin sensed it. They had talked for weeks about how to navigate the minefield created by the NCAA and college football, the schedule it imposed and the “impossible decision” Pribula said it created.

A few hours later, Pribula announced he would do it Enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and quit the team before the College Football Playoff begins. Penn State has removed its name from the online roster. Everyone had to remain clinical, even when the emotional toll was palpable. Not against each other, but with a system that required a college football player to make a career-changing decision that also impacted his team at the biggest turning point of the season.

“That’s why I have so much respect for Beau Pribula,” Franklin said Monday, “not just how he has conducted himself over the last four years during the recruiting process and since he’s been on campus. But he came into my office and.” We had several man-to-man discussions to find a solution that was in the best interest of Penn State and in the best interest of Beau. And I think things are out of our control, from a calendar perspective, from an NCAA perspective, made that almost impossible.

It’s no surprise that Pribula will transfer from Penn State, especially after starting quarterback Drew Allar announced it Returning in 2025 for a fourth season. Pribula still has two years of eligibility left and wants to play more than just an attacking offensive role. Franklin and Pribula have been having this conversation for the past few weeks. That’s not the reason for Franklin’s concern.

This is the transfer portal window, which is open from December 9th to December 28th, coinciding with the first round of the College Football Playoff. Yes, players whose teams make the playoffs have a five-day bonus window at the end of their season. In theory, Pribula could have waited. In practice, however, he would have lost ground to his quarterback colleagues in portal jockeying for the few spots at premium programs across the country. If Pribula wants to contact coaches, take visits, choose a program and be on campus in the January semester, he wouldn’t be able to be part of Penn State’s playoff roster.

Hence the “no-win situation” Franklin alluded to. But it doesn’t have to be that way, the head coach added. Franklin then spent six minutes explaining that college football’s schedule isn’t working for college football.

“We have problems in college football,” Franklin said. “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. But the way the portal is, the timing and the way our team plays — and when you play the quarterback position and there’s only one spot and those spots are getting filled more and more — he had feeling like I’ve been put in a no-win situation, and I agree with him.

“First of all, I hate it, especially for Beau Pribula. I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of the student-athlete. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of college football. But I think that’s up to us.” A challenge at the moment, right? Who really runs college football and makes the best decisions for student-athletes and our sport as a whole? Whether we don’t play as many games this season, if we don’t play conference championship games – which could be a compensation for teams that don’t play them anyway – we could finish this season to be more consistent with most institutions’ academic calendar because which is also part of that pressure “There’s a transfer portal/free agency in the middle of the playoffs, but there’s just a lot of things that don’t make sense.”

Pribula, who spent three years in the Penn State program after a life as a fan, is now becoming a symbol of college football’s path forward. Players have more freedom, money and influence in the game. You also have to deal with the game’s error messages when it comes to athletic department payments and contracts. And for the most part, they are leaderless along the way.

Franklin ventured into hiring a college football commissioner before considering some of the complications it might bring. The sport is regional and temperamental, and hiring a commissioner will prove difficult.

“I know there’s been a lot of discussion about maybe having a college football commissioner, but I think it’s pretty obvious that we need that,” Franklin said. “We need someone to run college football. We need someone who isn’t biased based on a conference and who doesn’t care about the financial implications because if you just make the decisions that are in the best interest of the student.” -athletes and college football, then I think that you can do it. But if you’re biased by a particular conference or if you make all your decisions based on revenue and revenue, we’re never going to make it a good place.

Remember, Penn State will play its first game against SMU in the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The show has been longing for this moment since 2016. Franklin advocated talking about SMU, but college football wouldn’t allow him to do so this Monday.

“Beau grew up wanting to come to Penn State his whole life,” Franklin said. “This is his dream school and he had a phenomenal career here. And most of all, I want everyone to understand that. And why did we create a system where this guy couldn’t finish this season with his team?”

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