Planning for success: Christian Hackenberg heating up as season progresses

[darthseinfeld]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Christian Hackenbergtreated Saturday’s praise much like he does criticism. He smiled politely, told reporters he’s just doing what the coaches ask and reiterated that nothing has really changed.


"I don’t think anything was different," he added, minutes after arguably his best game of the season against Illinois. "We just went out, and we executed."


Chalk that up to humility instead of reality. Because this didn’t seem like the same Hackenberg who completed less than half his passes against Temple. This was a different quarterback from early in the season, the one who pulled a ball cap close to his eyes during postgame news conferences and was roundly criticized for making poor throws and poorer decisions.


There was no ball cap this time. No criticism either. Students leaned over the railing Saturday to pat Hackenberg on the shoulder after completing a season-high 72.4 percent of his passes. It wasn’t just this game that seemed different, either. Over the past six, Hackenberg has thrown 12 touchdowns and no interceptions.


He might not feel any different, but in the month of October, he sure put up different numbers. Last month, no Big Ten quarterback threw for more than Hackeberg’s nine TD passes and, nationally, only Duke’s Thomas Sirk threw more passes without an interception.


"Christian Hackenberg -- I think a lot of times people find reasons to be critical," coach James Franklin said. "To me, the most important statistic is touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s done a great job of that in our last six games."


But Hackenberg isn’t about to focus on those numbers. Even with 75 seconds left in Saturday’s game, and PSU leading by five-plus touchdowns, his mind was on the game. Though some of his teammates joked or laughed, he talked into a headset and stared at the action on the field.


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/126264/christian-hackenberg-heating-up-as-season-progresses

 

[RS12]

I think he could be there when they pick. If they think he is the guy, they should pull the trigger.

 

[4lifecowboy]

I think he is the guy and we should pull the trigger if he is there

 

[darthseinfeld]

I think he could be there when they pick. If they think he is the guy, they should pull the trigger.

Im really warming up to him

 

[4lifecowboy]

Hackenburg in the first and James Conner in the second would make up for this disappointing season

 

[Hardline]

If he is there in the second round take him.
I do not want to miss out on Elliott or Henry.

 

[4lifecowboy]

If he is there in the second round take him.
I do not want to miss out on Elliott or Henry.

Running back over quarterback?

 

[Hardline]

Running back over quarterback?

If we cant get Paxton or Goff then yes. Theres not much of a talent difference in all the second tier QBs

 

[lkelly]

For those warming up to Hack, you can turn on the air conditioning after today's NW game.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...kenberg-looks-more-like-project-than-prospect

 

[jwithrowcpd]

As a Penn State fan, I watch this guy every week and it has been very frustrating the last three years. He has all the tangible tools in the world and looked great as a freshman. I'm certain that was a reflection of the coaching staff under O'Brien vs. what they have now in Franklin. His sophomore season I wrote off due to the lack of talent around him from the scholarship reduction and other sanctions. This year I thought he would take a step forward and be THE guy that everyone was thinking he was going to be in the pre-season. At times, he has looked worthy of a first round pick, but more often times he doesn't. He consistently misses open receivers or throws the ball to them in an area where it makes the catch more difficult than it needs to be. He also doesn't throw as tight of a spiral that you would think of a guy of his talent. Additionally his attitude during the games, whether on the field or on the sideline, bothers me. He seems like a bit of a diva to me, thinking that he is simply better than his teammates due to his talent. You rarely see him supporting guys after bad plays and he usually is by himself on the sidelines. At times I feel like he just doesn't care about his college career anymore and is simply going through the motions until the season is over so he can prepare for the draft.

Yes, all of these things can be fixed by a QB coach who knows what they are doing. And at the end of the day, he still has the most arm talent of any QB in this draft. Is he worth the risk? Probably, and some team will probably take him in the first based on talent alone. But, from what I have seen from him over his career, I wouldn't take him in the 1st and I'd have to think about it in the 2nd. Some games he looks like Favre and others he looks like Jeff George. There is just no consistency to his game.

 

[reddyuta]

Sorry but I am not impressed.he is a project and not first rd material.

 

[IAmLegend]

He's an interesting prospect indeed. Great physical tools, but can't seem to put it all together. Have watched him play quite a bit and certain games he looks great, and in some games he looks like he's just not 1st-round material.

I will say, though, that he doesn't get much help from his offense. He's constantly running for his life behind that O-Line. He's One of the most sacked QBs in the country. And his receivers consistently drop balls.

 

[Hailmary]

Best thing that can happen to him is to go to a team where he can sit for 2 - 3yrs and unlearn all the bad habits he's picked up playing behind a bad oline. If he is asked to play right away, his confidence is going to get destroyed to the point where he may not be able to recover, imo.

 

[Hailmary]

Additionally his attitude during the games, whether on the field or on the sideline, bothers me. He seems like a bit of a diva to me, thinking that he is simply better than his teammates due to his talent. You rarely see him supporting guys after bad plays and he usually is by himself on the sidelines.

That doesn't sound good. Do you see shades of Cutler?

 

[jwithrowcpd]

That doesn't sound good. Do you see shades of Cutler?

I do. In fact, coming out of high school that was his pro comparison. And even now, some pro scouts still feel the same way.

 

[lkelly]

I'm pretty sure Hack ate the cheese. Worst thing for him was to come out of his freshman year with the early #1 overall pick label. If he had been treated like a red headed step child (like, say, Matt McGloin), he might have pushed harder and really tried to prove the doubters wrong. Now he does act like the chosen one, he can't realistically be benched even when he's horrible, and I'm pretty sure he has interviewed agents.

I'm not sure how long it takes to teach accuracy. It seems like one of those things you either have or don't. He doesn't. Considering he has started every college game for almost 3 years you can't blame a lack of reps or just a few bad games.