STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) — Beau Pribula may be No. 2 on the Penn State depth chart, but he is No. 1 in the hearts of so many fans in the Midstate. The former Central York quarterback has carved out quite the role for himself in the offense at his dream school, Penn State.

“Beau is wired right,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin. “His preparation is excellent. He’s a very thoughtful young man. I think he’s a very driven young man and extremely competitive.”

Beau is drawing a lot of praise from the coaching staff and his teammates in his second season in Happy Valley.

“I love having Beau in the [quarterbacks] room,” said offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. “[He’s a} very competitive guy, great leader, a great student. He’s an all-around awesome teammate.”

“I think Beau has done an unbelievable job,” said wide receiver Liam Clifford. “You guys have seen it when he goes [in the game], he’s always making plays.”

The praise comes for good reason; as Penn State’s backup quarterback, Beau has scored four touchdowns through five games, contributing to the team’s success on second team reps.

“When I came into Penn State, my goal was to help the team win in any way possible,” Beau said. “That’s why I said before the season, no matter what my role is, no matter what the coaches tell me to do, I’m going to do and execute to the best of my ability.”

The redshirt freshman is one of the oldest guys in the quarterback room alongside starter Drew Allar, also in his second season in the program.

“People may think it’s difficult because there’s only one quarterback on the field at the time, but it’s really not like that,” Beau said of the perceived quarterback competition. “I think Drew and I really help each other and he’s been really good. We’re great friends and he’s a good guy and it’s a healthy quarterback room.”

So much was made of the quarterback competition this off season in the media and among the fan base. As Drew was named the starting quarterback before the first game of the season against West Virginia, Beau’s preparation for games and practice never changed.

“You have to come out to practice every day and say, I’m going to get better,” Beau said. “I’m going to focus on myself.”

It’s an approach he’s had since high school at Central York, where the three-time captain led the Panthers to the school’s first ever District III title.

“I always treat every rep like it’s my last one because it could be,” Beau said. “If I can just keep getting better, no matter what happens, that’s the only thing you have to focus on.”

Beau says he plays with a chip on his shoulder, something he learned from his older brother, Cade, a quarterback at Sacred Heart.

“We always have had that familiarity and just to bounce ideas off of each other and talk about the position, it’s helped me so much,” Beau said.

Despite his immense talent and work ethic, the transition to college took time for Beau.

“It hasn’t been easy, and it hasn’t been easy for anybody who’s gotten to this level,” Beau said. “There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes, and to have the opportunity to take it on the field and and finally have that our work pay off is really good.”

That hard work has earned him the respect of the locker room and the awe of thousands of kids back home in the Midstate

“People looking up to me just makes me proud to represent York, the Midstate, and the state of PA. I was a kid from York, whose wildest dream was to play at Penn State.”

A dream come true for the York native, turned inspiration for the kids looking up to the quarterback playing in the Blue and White uniform.

“If you work hard enough and you really believe, you definitely can do what you set your mind to,” Beau said.