Beau Pribula says Kirby Moore, better facilities brought him from Penn State to Mizzou
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Beau Pribula said a near-2-hour meeting with Mizzou offensive coordinator Kirby Moore helped sell him on the Tigers.
The facilities helped, too.
During a recent sit-down interview on the show, Next Up with Adam Breneman, Pribula talked about his decision to transfer from Penn State to Mizzou this offseason, and he revealed that 2 things really sold him on the Tigers. The first was their offensive coordinator. The second was a football environment that impressed him more than what he had at Penn State.
“I knew they were a good team. I remember they beat Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl,” Pribula said. “But other than that, I was like, I don’t know anything about Missouri. So, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go to (visit) Missouri. I’ll check it out. They’re a good program.’ I went there and first thing was like, wow, they have really nice facilities. … This is kinda nicer than Penn State, what?
“But it was really just getting with Coach Drink, hanging out with him, and then Kirby Moore, the offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore’s younger brother. It was really those 2 things.”
Moore, who also coaches the Tigers’ quarterbacks, joined coach Eli Drinkwitz in Columbia in January 2023 after spending 6 seasons at Fresno State coaching wideouts, coaching quarterbacks, and coordinating the offense. Moore worked with Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer on the Bulldogs’ staff and then served as DeBoer’s passing game coordinator when DeBoer returned in 2020 as the head coach.
When DeBoer left to take the Washington job in 2022, Moore was one of the few Fresno State assistants who stayed behind. He worked under Jeff Tedford. With Moore calling plays, Fresno State averaged north of 30 points per game.
In Moore’s first season with the Tigers, Mizzou ranked 12th nationally in opponent-adjusted EPA per play, according to Game on Paper. Mizzou’s offensive efficiency dropped a bit in 2024, but the partnership between Pribula and Moore offers some exciting potential.
“This is what I want right here. This OC is dialed. They have a really good football team, and they have a really good football program going on an upward trajectory,” Pribula said of his decision-making thought process. “I’m going to take these other visits to compare and contrast but this is going to be tough to beat.”
And it was.
Pribula joined the program in the winter and went through spring ball in a competition to win the starting job. He is expected to be named Mizzou’s starter at some point before the season opens on Aug. 28 against Central Arkansas.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
