The question on every Penn State fan’s mind is this: Will Christian Hackenberg live up to the hype of his freshman year, or will his sophomore slump turn into a junior joke?
Arguments from professionals and fans alike swing both ways; they range from calling Hackenberg, the junior quarterback from Palmyra, Virginia, washed up and overrated to calling him the best college quarterback; from saying that he’s all talk and no delivery to declaring that he will go number one in the 2016 NFL draft.
Now, this article is not going to take a stand on which Hackenberg – the freshman standout that dominated the Big Ten, or the sophomore that gave up 15 interceptions – is the real Hackenberg, but what we know for sure is that the 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year spent about 90 percent of his 2014 season running for his life.
By now, if you haven’t heard the list of reasons that the Nittany Lion quarterback struggled in the 2014, you’ve been living under a rock.
James Franklin, who took over after Bill O’Brien abruptly left Penn State to coach in the NFL, has a very different style than what Hackenberg, who had grown to depend on Bill O’Brien’s offense-heavy game, was used to.
Follow that by losing Hackenberg’s three favorite targets to graduation, a transfer, and an early exit to the NFL draft, leaving him with inexperienced and unfamiliar receivers, and he was bound to lose a few passes. Hackenberg has an uncanny ability to read, second read, and triple read the field, but he can’t force someone else to catch a ball, a common misconception that Franklin strove to put to rest.
“If you have a quarterback, they don’t care about anything else. If you have a quarterback, that’s all you need. You’re going to win the championship because you have a quarterback. Though it’s a very important piece of the puzzle, [but] you need to have the other pieces to complement it.”
But enough about the could-have-beens, should-have-beens. That topic has been exhausted. What everyone wants to know now is how 2015 will turn out. Will Hackenberg finally be able to deliver on the season that fans were seemingly promised in 2013?
The simple answer is that we don’t know.
All of the potential is there.
First of all, four- and five-star recruits like Paris Palmer, Sterling Jenkins, and verbal recruit Michal Menet have the size and the skill to protect Hackenberg from the onslaught of bigger and more dominating defensive forces. Hackenberg cuts an impressive figure at 6-4 and 220 pounds, but he doesn’t stand a chance against a 6-8, 300 pound defensive tackle, proven by the astonishing record of 44 sacks in 2015.
Second, Hackenberg thrives on competition. It’s part of the reason he chose Penn State. At the time of his recruitment, former Nittany Lions head coach Bill O’Brien marveled at his in-depth, advanced knowledge of the game (and it didn’t hurt that during spring practices and visits that he made, Hackenberg was nailing throws that O’Brien didn’t believe a professional could make).
He chose to commit to Penn State because he wanted the challenge of rebuilding the program. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, and despite nearly everyone in the college football scene questioning his judgement, he did it anyway.
That kind of drive doesn’t just go away, folks. Further, now that he has a better understanding of how to handle the tough situations and having access to a more experienced offensive line, Hackenberg is ready to take on the next season.
“It drives me every day,” Hackenberg affirmed. “If I hold myself to those high standards, it’s easier for me to hold everyone else to the same thing.”
Third, Hackenberg has the skill.
He is widely touted as one of the best college quarterbacks. As previously mentioned, he has an incredible ability to throw the ball. Again and again, Hackenberg proved that he has pinpoint accuracy – if he has time to read the field. Hackenberg is not one to just close his eyes and throw the ball, trusting his receivers to magically “find” the ball in midair.
Instead, he carefully plots his every move. When he has time to set up the play, Hackenberg delivers, and he delivers big, as we can see from his performances against UCF in Dublin, against Ohio State, and against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. When he doesn’t have time (again, thanks to a terrible offense), he gets flustered and starts running from the inevitable takedown.
No one can predict the future; Hackenberg could just as easily tank and throw 35 interceptions as he could throw 35 touchdowns.
However, if Hackenberg is to succeed in the fall, he needs just one thing – a better offense. Franklin has made grand promises to this effect, and if he delivers, Hackenberg (and Penn State fans) can expect great things in 2015.
Photo Credit: fansided.com
