In just two years at Penn State, so much has been said about starting Quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The reigning Big Ten freshman of the year has been hyped up as the greatest thing since sliced bread. He’s also been hit with the “overrated” label. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. extolled his virtues as a future professional signal caller.
Kirk Herbstreit sees the NFL in his future as well.
As this 19 year old kid from rural Virginia fulfills his lifelong dream of being the Nittany Lions QB1, he’s enduring the slings and arrows that come with being in such a high profile position. The team’s record and statistics show a regression, not just with Hack, but the whole team. Hackenberg’s tangibles and skill sets remain steady. Perhaps he’s developing them further. However, everything else around him is like his production; in dramatic decline.
The unhappy results in Happy Valley are exacerbated by the fact that Hackenberg came to State College with pretty much the highest ratings that a recruit could earn. The offense has been bad this year, and the trip to Champaign today was a new low.
In the disaster that has been the Tim Beckman era at Illinois, no opponent accumulated fewer total yards then Penn State today. Many people beyond Christian Hackenberg are to blame. His patchwork offensive line has given up more sacks than any team in the power five conferences. Illinois, not exactly LSU when it comes to boasting a fierce pass rush, sacked him twice. Hack sacks are now up to 39 in just 11 games this year.
Also, Hackenberg is getting no help at all from his running game.
PSU was down to their third string tailback, and couldn’t exploit the worst run defense (that would be the Illini) of any power five conference team (they rank 121st nationally out of 125 total), enough to win. Akeel Lynch and the PSU ground game had a very nice day statistically, but they couldn’t convert a rushing third down to salt the game away. Hackenberg (just 8-16 for 93 yards, yes, you read that correctly a mere 93 yards) really could have used Zach Zwinak or Bill Belton.
Head Coach James Franklin took ownership of the loss in his post-game presser:
“I did not do a good job, that’s the reality,” he said before listing all the people that he absolved from blame.
Former PSU Coach Bill O’Brien, not Bears Head Coach Marc Trestman, might be the true “quarterback whisper.” The luster is sure off Trestman now. There aren’t many 2016 NFL mock drafts out there, but the very first two that I found had Hackenberg going first overall.
They’re both onWalter Football.com. Here’s what the first one had to say, it was published on July 24th.
Some people peg this dude, #PSU ‘s Christian Hackenberg, as the #1 overall pick in the 2016 #NFL draft. Live #B1G pic.twitter.com/eU0itbH0dz
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) November 22, 2014
Christian Hackenberg has struggled for many reasons. We mentioned the OL. Then there is the adjustment to a new system under James Franklin. That shouldn’t be an excuse in late November though. Entering today, Penn State is 12th (out of 14) in passing efficiency and scoring offense in the Big Ten. Hackenberg himself is tenth in passing efficiency in the conference as he’s thrown for 14 interceptions against just 8 TD passes.
“It’s frustrating, but it comes with the territory in terms of having to play with guys being hurt, out of position, moving people around, being the second-youngest team in the country. Guys just haven’t been there and done that, and you can’t really rely on experience,” said Hackenberg today when asked about all the routine mistakes the team is still making.
Yes, the receivers are very young and inexperienced. The Lions WR group is about as young as it gets in college football, and they often run the wrong route. In Champaign it was a combination of factors: the wind, Christian himself, and the receivers. There were about two or three throws that would have easily resulted in TD passes Saturday at Memorial Stadium. He just over-shot them.
Franklin confirmed in the postgame presser that you could spread the blame around on the receivers, the QB and the elements. Hackenberg could have really used two-time Big Ten receiver of the year Allen Robinson.
Christian Hackenberg has the prototypical size (6-4, 243 pounds) and arm strength to play in the NFL, according to Kiper:
“Having the size and stature and the arm strength he does, is going to make him a guy the NFL will have a lot of interest in come the 2017 draft, after his junior year.”
“They are going to bring in the personnel around him and they have some young players that are evolving with him.”
Added Herbstreit: “his skill set makes him a future NFL quarterback, there’s no doubt about that.”
“I think that Christian Hackenberg is a great quarterback, maybe it being a bit windy took something out of the game,” said Illini Coach Tim Beckman.
Some of what’s gone wrong with Christian Hackenberg is the fault of Christian Hackenberg; but a hell of a lot more is not. If his draft stock is damaged, he still has plenty of time to fix that. Rules require he needs to stay at least one more year.
So what’s next for Hackenberg, fundamentally speaking? How will he improve himself and the team of which he is Captain?
“Just make sure I hang in there, even if I’m going to take one in the teeth, just make sure I’m sitting in there and trying to deliver the football as accurately as I can,” Hackenberg said.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2