The new year is just six weeks old, but already there’s plenty of new love for Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
And not just because Saturday is his 20th birthday. Or because it’s also Valentine’s Day.
(Spoiler alert: Hate to break the news to the 18,088 coeds on campus, but Christian’s got a steady.)
Instead, we’re talking about the media. With his power and the range of a B-52, it loveS hack, baby.
And why not? There is the lingering glow of the Pinstripe Bowl, when he completed 34 passes for 371 yards and four TDs in an overtime win against Boston College.
There are his lifetime stats as a freshman and sophomore at Penn State: 25 games, 25 starts; 501 of 876 (57.19%), 5,932 yards, 32 TD passes, 25 picks, a fistful of fourth-quarter theatrics.
(Hackenberg’s numbers are eerily similar to those of his predecessor, Matt McGloin, at Penn State: 22 starts, 513 of 894, 57.38%, 6,385 yards 46 TD pass, 22 picks.)
There’s the baby face of a PSU BMOC; the 6-foot-4, 234-pound body of a gladiator; and the post-game interview acumen of a White House spokesman.
Then there’s his loyalty to Penn State, through thick and thin over the past few seasons, and the heavy duty of leadership expected this fall. Hackenberg is the only one of seven 2014 team co-captains to return this season. Along with All-Big Ten defensive tackle Anthony Zettelmaniac, Hackenberg is clearly the Nittany Lions’ marquee star.
Which is well and good, but the reason Hackenberg is getting all the press is his Protential. As in pro football. As in the NFL. The national media has started to include Penn State’s veteran quarterback prominently when making its lists of top college players in 2015 and top college prospects for the 2016 NFL Draft. Although only entering his third season at Penn State (and his second set of spring drills, both under head coach James Franklin), Hackenberg will be eligible for the pros at this time next year.
So Hackenberg is starting to feel the love from a number of directions – be it birthday, V-Day or mock draft day. With that in mind, here’s a look at what folks in the media have been saying about Penn State’s quarterback over the past few weeks. (I have a feeling we’re going to be updating this list a lot as the year progresses…)
ESPN: NFL Insider Adam Shefter Lauds Big Ten Big 3
January 15, 2015: Shefty may have gotten this whole thing started. A day before his ESPN colleague Adam Rittenberg wrote extensively – see his remarks below — that Big Ten quarterbacks Hackenberg, Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones could be first-round selections in the 2016 NFL Draft, Shefter Tweeted him to the punch.
As @AdamShefter noted, “Last Big 10 QB drafted in 1st-rd was Kerry Collins 1995. 2016 Draft Class possibly has 3: Hackenberg, Cook, Jones (If he wins starting job).”
ESPN.com: Big Ten Collecting Elite QB Talent For 2015
January 16, 2015: Rittenberg, Big Ten blogger extraordinaire for ESPN.com and one of the sharpest guys covering the conference, knows Penn State’s quarterbacking history quite well. He added this a day after Shefter’s Tweet. “The (Big Ten) hasn’t had a quarterback drafted in the first round of the NFL draft since Penn State’s Kerry Collins in 1995 (No. 5 overall to Carolina),” wrote Rittenberg. “Collins, now 42, played his final NFL season in 2011.”
Rittenberg thinks Jones could break that spell: “Even if Jones doesn’t start or backslides in his play, another Big Ten quarterback could crack the first round in 2016. Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg both have the ingredients to earn high draft grades in 2016 (Hackenberg, who just completed his sophomore year, would be an early draft entrant).
“Let’s begin with Hackenberg, who flourished in Bill O’Brien’s offense in 2013, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. At this time last year, many viewed the Penn State quarterback as a first-round lock in 2016 and a candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick. But Hackenberg endured a rough sophomore season behind a flimsy line, throwing 15 interceptions against 12 touchdowns and was sacked 44 times. His frustration grew and he had several sideline blow-ups with offensive coordinator John Donovan.
“But opposing coaches tell me Hackenberg wasn’t the problem with Penn State’s offense. If the line is fixed — the Lions will have more bodies there in 2015 — Hackenberg’s performance should improve. He still projects extremely well to the next level, and his top three receivers are back…”
SportsOnEarth.com: Top 25 Early 2015 Heisman Candidates
January 21, 2015: Matt Brown of SportsOnEarth.com took an early stab at the top Heisman Trophy candidates of 2015 and he puts Hackenberg on the list at No. 22. Hackenberg is 11th out of 13 quarterback candidates and just one of six players from the Big Ten who made the list – a list that Brown, a Penn State grad, says needs some explanation:
“We try to identify the 25 likeliest candidates for the most prestigious individual award in the sport. This is not a list of the best players for the ’15 season. This is a list of potential Heisman candidates, which means quarterbacks and running backs, with a couple well-known defenders thrown in and no receivers, at least not yet, because there doesn’t appear to be an Amari Cooper in the sport next season
”22. Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State. Hackenberg had a 2014 to forget, but the context is important: Penn State was dealing with the worst year of NCAA sanctions, with very, very thin depth thanks to reduced scholarships. The position hit hardest was the offensive line, which severely handcuffed play-calling and got Hackenberg hit a lot, with the problems festering as everyone became frustrated. Still, Hackenberg remains a coveted potential NFL prospect for a reason. He has one of the strongest arms in the country, and the Pinstripe Bowl comeback showed that he can be as good as any quarterback in college football when he gets into a rhythm. If he regains some confidence and the offensive line improves, he can have a bounce-back ’15 season.”
WalterFootball.com: 2016 NFL Mock Draft
February 5, 2015: WalterFootball.com has already released the first round of its 2016 NFL Mock Draft and the site’s founder, Walter Cherepinsky, says Hackenberg is not only coming out early – but he’s going high. Spoiler alert: Doing these drafts essentially two years ago is dependent not only the college player being drafted, but slotting the NFL team as well. IN other words, an educated guess.
The way Cherepinsky – a Penn State graduate — sees it, the Chicago Bears are going to have another abysmal season in 2015, giving them the No. 6 pick in next year’s draft. And with that pick, he predicts they’ll take Hackenberg: “Christian Hackenberg had a rough sophomore campaign, but he has all the talent in the world. He was great in the bowl game, so perhaps that’s a sign of things to come. If Hackenberg has a strong 2015 season, he’ll be in top-five consideration, and the Bears certainly could use him once they jettison the heartless Jay Cutler.”
Overall, in the 2016 draft WalterFootball.com has Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa as the No. 1 pick, going to Tennessee, with the Buckeyes’ Jones being drafted second by the New York Jets – making Hackenberg the No. 2 quarterback selected.
WalterFootball.com: 2016 NFL Draft Prospects – Quarterbacks
February 9: This is a bit incongruent with its 2016 mock draft, but it does underscore that teams draft for need, not rankings. Hackenberg is projected by WalterFootball.com as the third-best current college quarterback who will be draft-eligible following the 2015 season – after Cook and Jones. “Hackenberg completed 56 percent of his passes in 2014 for 2,677 yards with 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He played better than the numbers indicate as his supporting cast was a huge liability, including an awful offensive line. Hackenberg closed out the 2014 season with a huge comeback overtime win over Boston College, completing 34-of-50 for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
Their analysis: “Hackenberg was the star recruit for Bill O’Brien and proved the hype legit during an impressive freshman season that saw him named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Hackenberg completed 59 percent of his passes for 2,955 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2013. He also ran for four touchdowns. Hackenberg has great size, a strong arm, pocket presence and is very advanced in his field vision. WalterFootball.com has heard from sources in the NFL that Hackenberg could end up being an elite quarterback prospect.”
Sporting News: Top 50 Players in the Game
February 11, 2015: Matt Hayes of The Sporting News just released his pre-, pre-, preseason list of the top 50 players in college football heading into the 2015 regular season. Eleven quarterbacks are on Hayes’ list, headed by No. 1 Trevone Boykin of TCU. Ohio State’s Jones and J.T. Barrett are No. 2 and 3 overall and among quarterbacks. Michigan State’s Cook is No. 23, while Hackenberg is rated No. 47 overall. Here is what Hayes wrote about Hackenberg:
“On numbers alone, Hackenberg took a significant step back in his sophomore season. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Penn State line was young, inexperienced and overwhelmed — and Hackenberg was getting beaten up week after week with little help from skill players on the outside. His TD/INT ratio was bad (12/15), but not another player in college football can make the throws Hackenberg can.”
Popular Stories:
Penn State Football: Media Show Lots of Early 2015 Love for Christian Hackenberg
Penn State Football: Uplifting Athletes Day Set For Saturday
Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions Get Rolled 75-55 By Ohio State
Penn State Football: James Using NFL Combine Reps To Raise Money For Charity
Coldest Weather Yet Barreling Into State College, Bringing ‘Life-Threatening’ Conditions
District Attorney Fires Back at County Commissioners for ‘Baseless Political Attack’
$60 Million Finally in Pipeline to Fight Child Abuse
State College Teenager Charged with Statutory Rape
Woman Convicted for Causing Fatal Car Crash Seeks New Trial
Penn State Football: Program To Receive Full Share Of Big Ten Bowl Revenue This Season
Online Appeal Raises Over $9,000 for Police Officer’s Family
Survey Finds Strong Support for Return of Paterno Statue
