Mizzou QB Beau Pribula Details Pregame Visualization Process

Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula has a unique way of going about preparing for a football game.

It's a process that helps him visualize each play in a game script so he feels more familiar with the playbook. So far, in his time with Missouri, it's something that's helped him be more comfortable with play calls, along with executing them.

"When I'm out on the field, it's not my first time running it in my brain," Pribula said in a press conference Tuesday. "Your brain doesn't really know [the] difference between reality and what you're really imagining. So when I'm out there, it's really the second or third time I'm going through that and I think that just makes everything easier."

This is a process that stems back to before his time with the Tigers. It's a pattern Pribula established last season with the Penn State Nittany Lions in order to consume a new and confusing offense quicker than he initially would have.

"I think last year I really started to do it because at Penn State, we had a new offensive coordinator, Andy [Kotelnicki] and the offensive play calls were really long, kind of pro-style," Pribula said.

He had to restart that process once he got to Missouri, but it quickly sprang into action. He's found success so far, leading the Tigers to a 3-0 record while throwing for 791 passing yards, seven touchdowns and an interception in that span.

To start out in his new offense with Missouri, Pribula would go play-by-play and walk through it. This is simply another way to memorize what he has to do so he's prepared for actual game reps.

"It goes back to when I first got here, just trying to learn the offense," Pribula said. "I would walk through pretty much every play on offense with one of our offensive coaches in any way I can."

This is something that he will continue to do throughout the season. It may seem extreme to walk through every single play on a script, but it's very clearly ending with a positive result for Pribula and the Missouri offense so far.

"Before every practice, every game, I'll walk through every play on that script in practice," Pribula said. "Look at what the defensive script did and visualize what that is, and just going through every single progression and seeing it before it happens."

Pribula was consistently behind Drew Allar during his time at Penn State, but that seemingly never changed the way he'd prepare for a game or practice.

In many ways, having that level of readiness as a backup to Allar has made him more ready to start with the Tigers.

"I don't think there's any difference, just because I prepared like I was a starter at Penn State too," Pribula said. "That was really key for me, because it's all mindset, really. You have to put yourself into that, and it's made the transition to being a full-time starter a lot easier."

Pribula has a big game on his hands alongside the Tigers in Week 4. South Carolina will come to town, kicking off a 6 p.m. Saturday at Faurot Field.