Hackenberg has made strides at Penn State

On a steamy August afternoon in the New Jersey Meadowlands, Christian Hackenberg ran through the tunnel at Met Life Stadium seeking to make the transition from promising high school quarterback to Penn State freshman on whose right arm rides the hopes of Nittany Nation.

Less than three months after graduating from Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, Hackenberg made it look almost seamless on opening day when in fact, it wasn't.

"It was tough for me, I think, just trying to understand the bigness of the stages that I was stepping into," he said Tuesday.

Hackenberg has gotten more comfortable with this big stage each week. With only one game of his rookie season remaining Saturday at Wisconsin, he is firmly entrenched as the Nittany Lions' franchise player as Penn State reaches the halfway point of the program's four years of NCAA sanctions.

He certainly has the tools - size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), arm strength, fundamentals, poise, intelligence, leadership - needed for team and personal success.

His development this season has been fascinating to watch. As with any freshman, he has had his share of ups and downs.

No one at Beaver Stadium will forget when he coolly led an 80-yard drive to the tying touchdown with no timeouts in the last minute of regulation against Michigan, a game won by the Lions in the fourth overtime. But he short-circuited a Penn State rally against Minnesota by fumbling a snap away on the 1-yard line.

"I think he's done a good job," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. "I think we could all do a better job in certain areas and I'm sure he has some plays he wished he could have back. But I think overall when you look at being 18 years old and coming in there and playing pretty much every snap of every game, I think he's gotten better and better."

O'Brien learned quickly that Hackenberg was a special talent when he saw film of him shortly after taking the Penn State job in January 2012. The man who coached Tom Brady at New England saw the size and mechanics of a big-time quarterback.

Aside from the impressive film, there were things that told O'Brien more about Hackenberg.

The Palmyra, Va., native was O'Brien's first commitment in February 2012. After the NCAA handed down harsh sanctions against Penn State that summer, rival coaches hounded him to break his promise to O'Brien.

But Hackenberg stayed resolute, holding together the Nittany Lions' recruiting class and earning high marks for character.

"His decision to honor his verbal commitment shows me that his word really means something to him," said former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, now an ESPN analyst. "Ultimately, character is more important than talent, in my opinion. When you have a player, especially a quarterback, who has a high level of both, you build your team around him."

Without a spring practice to break in, Hackenberg studied long hours to digest O'Brien's complex NFL offensive system. He slowly became one with his coach on calling plays and audibles and protections, and showed remarkable poise in games.

"His body language is not that of a freshman," said former college coach Gerry DiNardo, who works as a studio analyst on Big Ten Network football coverage. "When you see him on the sidelines after a mistake, he's not throwing a temper tantrum.

"It's obvious that Bill knows just how to handle him. I think he treats him as a star but he doesn't baby him and he doesn't rip his head off. I think it's been just a great mix."

Hackenberg has thrown for 2,616 yards, and with 64 yards against Wisconsin, he can move into third place on Penn State's single-season passing yardage list. He is second in the Big Ten in average yardage (237.8) and completions per game (19.09).

"I think that you really just need to understand you're going to make mistakes and then try to not make those mistakes once you learned from them," Hackenberg said.

O'Brien said he has increased the package given to Hackenberg each week. He liked the decisions the freshman made at the line against Purdue.

"Some of those decisions he made on his own based on film study, which is really, really good," he said. "That's when you know that a guy is starting to get it. He's made tremendous strides."

There doesn't seem to be much doubt he will continue on that path as long as O'Brien is coaching him. Blackledge points to former Lion Matt McGloin, who has started the Oakland Raiders' last two games.

"You have to consider what Bill O'Brien did with Matt in one season," he said. "Christian is physically a more talented pupil for O'Brien to work with."

Or as DiNardo put it, "How many freshman quarterbacks are starting? How many are in a pro formation? How many are being coached by Bill O'Brien, a guy who coached Tom Brady? Does it get any better than that for a guy like Christian Hackenberg?"

It could eventually lead to a lucrative NFL career for Hackenberg. But right now, he is training to become the best Penn State quarterback he can be.

"I've got a lot of belief in this kid," O'Brien said. "There has been a lot of good and there has been some things that we need to take from this stage to that stage and get it all the way to the next level. That's what we're trying to do."

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