Would Penn State football ever bench Drew Allar for Beau Pribula? / Penn State names its captains

Intro watch out for the backup QB Bo prula but not for the reason you're thinking you are locked on nitty Lions your daily podcast on the Penn State nit Lions part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day would Penn State actually consider benching Drew Aller for Bo prula this season these are your captains speaking did the nitty Lions get it right and Penn State makes a necessary Personnel change on defense this is lockon NY Lions I'm your host Zach Seiko and thanks so much for making us your first listen and watch every single day we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts including YouTube and today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV all you got to do is visit fanduel.com lockon to get started and be a part of the conversation down in the comments section are you team Drew Aller or Team bro Bo prula and this is one that I see a lot from Penn State fans criticizers of Drew Aller that Bo prula should start he's better than Aller he fits the offense better now it's Andy cot Nikki leges running quarterback so it should be bo prula let me start by saying this the stock is up for for Bo prula right now Stock is up for Beau Pribula from from Penn State side of point of view after incredible summer training camp all things are pointing in the right direction for Bo prula but maybe not necessarily in the way that people think so these things can be true right Fula is the more athletic quarterback that's a fact he's faster he's stronger as a runner right prula is perceived to have more poise toughness that it factor that everybody needs when it comes to Athletics that's not just relevant to football and I understand that though right I I want to be I want to be honest I want to be objective even though this is a Penn State show right I I can understand that especially with the way that Aller has been emotional in the wrong way on on the other side of those losses right the emotion is good thing in sports when it turns into passion but not what we saw from Drew Aller after Ohio State and Michigan but prula has been compared to trace murle and we've we've seen we saw how good that guy was Andy codal Nikki doesn't just like running quarterbacks no no no he he likes talented quarterbacks what he is he not supposed to take an offense that would that is led by vintage Tom Brady or pton Manning because they're not a mobile quarterback no he he just likes talented quarterbacks okay and that's what he has in Drew Aller and Bo prula so again the stock is up for Bo prula here cot Nikki has said that he has Elite athleticism great speed and when it comes to the change of Direction his ability to move his agility top 1% that's that's some pretty good praise for the backup quarterback here and then Bo has added himself that he feels really good in this offense Annie cotal Nikki offenses have been very kind to mobile dual thre threat quarterbacks so it's no surprise that V fora feels great in this offense but again the question is it's not okay how far has Bo prula gotten to this point in his third year with the program question is would Penn State bench Drew Aller for Bo prula and the answer is no the the answer is no Aller is the starting quarterback but that does not mean that Bo perula is not going to see the football field this season Aller is the better overall quarterback he's the better passer he's the better Field General and what that means is he's better at reading defenses seeing the football field and and making the necessary adjustments that a quarterback needs to make and he was just named captain so if Penn State had had this idea that yes we are going to put Bo prula in at some point over Drew Aller we we don't so I've given a lot of Two QB system? Praise here and talked about all the positives of Bo prula as a player but we don't know if he's an effective passer yet yet we don't know if he's more than a one-trick player sure he can run the ball effectively but what is he like when he has to throw it but prula is too good to keep off the field yet yet for some reason Mike yuch did that a season ago in 2023 and that's why we're here today why Andy codal Nikki is in Happy Valley and Mike yuch is not one of the one of the reasons so here is cotal Nikki who takes over this offense who likes mobile quarterbacks and two QB systems and that's the reason I want people to see that's what I want people to think about here we will in fact see more prula on the field in a wildcat package a change of pace I would not be surprised if prula gets a whole Drive depending on the matchup right where he comes in and I guess okay yes he all's coming off of the football field for Bo but to say that prula is going to be quarterback one the starter is not the case here it's still going to be Aller but the way that people should view this now is not a time share but a way to effectively efficiently strategically utilize two quarterbacks that have two different skill sets that are necessary to make this offense more Dynamic okay because there are still going to be struggles offensive line is a concern you make one change by bringing in Julian Fleming to the wide receiver core and you lose three of them and Dante cus Keandre Lambert Smith and Malik Mega so there are concern this offense is not perfect but if you can make it better any way that you can Bo prula allows you to do that and if you watch my last episode you'll remember that I talked about how Aller will be more mobile himself and useful in the ground game cotal Nikki is going to take advantage of that and use both quarterbacks with their unique skill sets individually and both of them at the same time Kel Nikki is going to write the wrongs of Mike yuch as an offensive coordinator there will be an initiative to get Bo prula on the football field as there should have been all along it will be used strategically as I've mentioned not just because you can there's going to be a purpose behind it and you can maximize the offenses versatility now defenses have to game plan for a completely different quarter back a completely different offense and when they're both on the field together that even adds a different element you have two passers but more importantly you have two passers that can move and make plays with their legs Aller is not a statue and I just got done watching a podcast not too long ago with the newest member of the locked on team Mountaineer Paul who covers the West Virginia Mountaineer saying that Drew Aller is not mobile he's slow he can't move and I want to be the one to say no that he can no he he can be be aware of that yes both both prula is the better Runner but not the better overall quarterback that's okay however if prula ever needed to run the offense for an extended stretch of the schedule for whatever reason right if he had to be the starting quarterback I would feel confident that Penn State's offense would not miss a beat with Pula as qb1 now coming up in the next segment I mentioned Drew Aller is a captain five others have been selected as Captain as well and there's a couple surprises that didn't make the list I'll tell you more on the other side of this break and today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel you've heard us talk about FanDuel America's number one sports book well we have something a little bit different for you all of you now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet just $5 and get a 3 week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV then with a Sponsor YouTube TV base plan you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of Market game how cool does that sound all you need is a Google account and a current form of payment and you can cancel it any time so it it's easy and seamless there is no unnecessary commitment and all you got to do is visit fanduel.com lockon again that's fanduel.com locked on and download America's number one sports book now I actually use FanDuel myself and if you look over on fel.com right now we have some line movement that is right we have some line movement in favor of the West Virginia Mountaineers if you look at that match up between the nitty lines and the Mountaineers Penn State is still a favorite but by n and a half points minus n and a half the total is set at 51.5 if you like those lines you can bet them over at fanduel.com again that is FanDuel America's number one sports book now before we get back to the show as we all know college football is back and the lock on college football podcast is kicking off the action with A Live season preview at 700 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday August 20th on the locked on College 247 streaming YouTube channel this is a four-part series covering each of the four major conferences with a discussion on which of the teams from the ACC Big 10 Big 12 and SEC have a shot at the expanded college football playoffs be sure to check out this special streaming on locked on College's 247 YouTube channel or on Amazon Fire TV and it's part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day as for the 2024 captains are named 2024 Penn State captains I have no grievances here I I think these are the right choices for offense it's quarterback Drew Aller and Center Nick Dawkins on defense it's KJ Winston and Kobe King and for special teams it's Riley Thompson and Dom Duca and they they vote on this right these players were voted in to be the six captains in the way the Penn State does it two offense two defense two special teams and these all like I said they make sense I I have no complaints here your second-year starting quarterback should be a captain your red shirt senior Veteran Center should definitely be a captain and and that that makes sense especially when wide receiver doesn't have a Bonafide playmaker just yet again Trey Wallace is supposed to be that Amari Evans is up and coming but you have to prove it and Julian Fleming hasn't been in the program he's only been here since the uh the spring football season when he transferred in over the winter enrollment period right so Julian Fleming is a captain type but not going to be in this case so you have your veteran seconde starting quarterback you have a veteran Center veteran talented defenses KJ Winston going into his third season Kobe King is your mik linebacker supposed to be that field General on on defense and then on special teams one of the oldest players on the team and and a return you're returning starting punter in Riley Thompson and then your only two-time Captain here so the other five outside of D deuca are all firsttime captains Dom Duca is the only two-time repeat Captain here again Penn State Penn State votes on this Aller being voted Captain is positive to see for a lot of reasons especially given last season struggles and when I say that 10 and two is respectable but obviously Penn State wants to be better it's it's not about the 10 and two record it's the way that Drew Aller handled that 10 and two record because it was a question of whether he could be a true leader we all know about the the postgame interview after the Ohio State game a very emotional Drew Aller and again emotional in not this not the right way when it comes to football but now Intel says that he's more confident he's more determined he's more versatile as a player and I think he exemplifies that in the number of interviews and the number of times that he spoken to the Press during training camp here is he a trace murle or sha Clifford type of leader not exactly he's just not as vocal as them and and Aller owns that but if Aller shows grit leads by example and has the ability to really take on that shortterm memory that you need in the game in in sports which he has addressed directly he's talked about that being a a a thermostat as opposed to a thermometer the quote that implies that we need to be able to control the heat control the temperature rather than just gauge it show what it what it says be able to control it and scale it back and be able to if you have if you make a mistake this is where truly leers are set apart by the example if you make a mistake don't let it turn into a bad drive a bad you know a bad quarter a bad half if it's a bad play fine it's isolated people make mistakes but it's when it snows snowballs into other things that's a problem and I think Drew Aller is past that now as for the defense I like the choices of KJ Winston and Kobe King as the defensive captains but there are two players that are are noticeably missing from this list Abdul Carter and deny Dennis Sutton they could wind up being Penn State's best assets on defense and deny Dennis Sutton specifically I feel like he's a spark plug kind of player high energy High motor he charges the emotion in for the for the pun the electricity that may be true that Carter and DDS denight Denis Sutton May boost the energy but you have to remember remember these are the leaders of the team and guys like I I know duuke is a special teams captain in this case but he also of course doubles is a linebacker here but King specifically to King and Winston they are going to coordinate the defense on the football field I think that's important when Winston gets to see sideline to sideline right Carter and Dennis Sutton they're right on the front lines they're okay yeah more more puns in this case for football and battles and everything but they they are right there they're not they're not changing around the defense they are not shifting the play they are not making calls they're going to take those Communications so Carter and Dennis Sutton are going to lead in different ways you you couldn't have gone wrong with any of them because Carter makes those impact type of plays I think he's the most valuable player on this team overall the I Dennis Sutton has the has the energy really he he is inspirational just by how ey of a motor that he has but I like the choices of King Winston I think they have Futures in the NFL King is extremely underrated I think he's one of the most valuable players on the team as it is and he's being severely disrespected by not only college football fans the media but even Penn State Spectators Kobe King deserves the due respect so I there is a reason that the linebacker and the safety who were going to that see the entirety of of the field that are veterans that do have the same amount of talent that Carter and DDS have that is why Winston and King were selected and then going back to the special teams right that third side of the football is important Riley Thompson as I've mentioned is one of the oldest players on the team and uh he's he is a really good punter let's not let's not forget that and Duca of course I mean as your repeat Captain he was a captain a season ago with the Special Teams alongside Malik Mega this is this is a no-brainer here but du UCA is why people love college football Duca a former walk-on earned his stripes and is now a quality linebacker and a special teamer yes Duca is a linebacker but he was the Special Teams Captain a season ago and and he is that again so Penn State has named Aller Dawkins King Winston Deluca and Thompson the six captains for the 2024 season as voted by the team Penn Defensive Personnel Change State wasn't finished making Personnel changes here so they announced the captains but they make another Personnel change on the defensive side on the football this is strategic and I'll tell you what happened coming up next here on lockon nitty lions and today's episode is also brought to you by eBay Motors passion drive and patience it's the formula for winning championships it's also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors say everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to its Peak Performance from superchargers to roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more and whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has got you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one rid or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or you get your money back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber and not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it's easy to make your car into that mvp and bring home huge wins so keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com again that is ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions do apply eBay guaranteed fit is only available to us customers so Penn State makes a smart move here defensively the Personnel change that I've been alluding to is darari Nelson is going to be moving down from safety to linebacker first reported by on three blue white Illustrated Shan Fitz and red shirt freshman darari Nelson is moving to that linebacker spot and not only is it strategic not only is it smart it's necessary it's necessary Nelson was kind of always rumored to eventually end up at linebacker actually he was recruited as a safety originally and a very good one top 15 in the entire country when he was recruited as a safety He's listed at 6'3 this is currently up on the go PSU Sports Website 6'3 217 lb per the official roster so he will e need to add weight that's the first thing that stands out here this is a shortterm and a long-term solution because you're going to have to play the long game here at 217 pounds that's not going to cut it at linebacker needs to be at least 230 235 you'd like him to be in that 240 you'd like to get him to 240 but Penn State is always emphasized James Franklin has said this from a nutritional standpoint you were not going to just add weight just for the the sake of adding weight Penn State needs numbers at linebacker that's why this move was necessary why it was a no-brainer because you have the loss of Kon Keys you still have an injury to key on Wy and you moved Abdul Carter to defensive end your best linebacker is now a pass rusher and that's that's fine Penn State made that decision for a reason but when you have all these changes at linebacker you need some reinforcements here and that's what darari Nelson is you don't need the help at safety right now you need it at linebacker and these players are so versatile that if ever it would ever to need to arise because they've talked about that Abdul Carter moving back and forth between defensive end and linebacker if necessary Nelson could always move back to safety if the if it happened to be that way but Nelson is going to be a linebacker I think moving forward I I think this is the plan like I said a short term to fill that depth chart longterm to convert him to an off ball linebacker here and Nelson has the frame to be the off ball line to be an offb linebacker how tall is Abdul Carter 6' three how tall was Micah Parsons 6' three darari Nelson 6' three I am not I'm whoa I'm not trying to argue here that Nelson is the next person the next player to wear the number 11 to be that LaVar Arrington type of player and set the standard but Penn State likes tall athletic Defenders to be that off ball Nelson's Move to Linebacker linebacker to play over there again Keon Wy Tony Roos moving over there they all fit the frame and more importantly this allows again the depth chart but kri Jackson an incoming true freshman I I don't think he should be forced into action early on allow him to sit allow him to learn don't for Don't force a firste player into onto the football field when he is not ready maybe he is but you allow some time for development here in this case again Nelson's already been with the program and Nelson coming down from the secondary what I really like about this is that he has the necessary coverage skills that he's bringing with him it's like having a tall defensive back so at 6' three so there's that mismatch tight end that a slot defensive back is is quick enough to cover but obviously doesn't match up with the size and then a slot receiver is going to be faster than your traditional linebacker but thei and Nelson kind of has all of that Blended together but you don't want him to be a liability in run defense I think here what he will be able to help to do is on on third on third Downs he will be helpful in those obvious passing situations until he can bulk up and have the necessary frame he has the frame work to get to that frame I I know that's I know that's high praise for Nelson that's a lot of optimism for somebody again that was a a top Defender a top 15 safety in the country once upon a time when he be was being recruited it's just a matter of if he will be able to handle it Penn State doesn't make this decis decision without without it being a coordinated decision I I like this move a lot for a variety of reasons as I've stated here first things first though needs to bulk up needs to add the muscle the weight and then get adjusted to the specific technique again if this was the plan all along that that's fine but like Abdul Carter being an effective standup pass rusher from the linebacker spot there's still the bits and pieces of that specific technique that he's needed to pick up at defensive end same thing applies here for darari Nelson going from safety to linebacker the writing was there for the move to happen it's just been accelerated and that's going to do it for this edition of locked on nitty lines we are within that two week window of Penn State versus West Virginia the 2024 season is here which means a full comprehensive 2024 preview in addition to the news that we are talking about from Penn State training camp predictions more predictions and Analysis for Penn State versus West Virginia and talking about everything in between it'll all be right here on lock on nitty lions and as always thanks so much for checking out this episode of Locked on nitty Lions be a part of the conversation down in the comments section drower or both perula what do you think of the six Captain selections andari Nelson moving from safety to linebacker I want to know your thoughts if you enjoyed this conversation please leave a like on it share it with friends and family I'd greatly appreciate it and if you're not already coming every day or subscribe to lock on nney lions on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast for the latest conversations around your favorite Penn State sports teams so thank you for making us your first listen and watch for your second listen and watch go check out lockon college football the podcast hosted by Spencer mlin as we are so close to college football kicking off mcgloin's getting you ready for an exciting season of college football okay we know about the transfer portal we know about nil but now there's the conference realignment the expanded college football playoff Spencer mlin is covering it all and taking you through all of it leading up to the 2024 season it's available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast and it's part of the locked on Daily Podcast Network Update podcast Network your team each and every day