Blue White Illustrated

March 2013

Penn State Sports Magazine

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cess, he recently was given five-star status by Rivals.com after establishing himself as the top passer at the Under Armour Bowl. He���s now considered the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country by Rivals, is the No. 7 overall prospect according to 247Sports.com, is ranked 33rd nationally by Scout.com and checks in at No. 15 in ESPN���s rankings. WHERE HE VISITED Hackenberg had offers from Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, among others, but made his commitment to Penn State immediately after a junior day visit to University Park last February. Before his commitment, he had visited Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia for games during the 2011 season. WHO OPENED THE DOOR Quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher and recruiting coordinator Charles London led the charge for Hackenberg, but it was his close relationship with Bill O���Brien that ultimately resulted in a commitment. QUOTABLE Hackenberg: ���I definitely think a redshirt year would help, but I want to play ��� that���s my mind-set. I���m a competitor. I���m going to try and get on the field as soon as I can up there, but that���s something I���m going to let Coach O���Brien and my dad have a conversation about. I���ll be happy with however things play out, but if it were up to me, I���m going to try and get on the field as quickly as I can.��� PHIL���S TAKE I listed Hackenberg as my No. 1 quarterback in the Atlantic Coast Conference region at the start of the 2012 season. Alabama had him at the top of its list for the Class of 2013. He has excellent size, tremendous pocket presence, an extremely quick release and is as effective when rolling out as he is in the pocket. He���s a very mobile quarterback with good 40-yard speed who scrambles well. This is the first time Penn State has ever recruited the nation���s No. 1 pro-style QB. Hackenberg certainly appears to have the potential to become a three-year starter. DaeSEAN HAMILTON WR, 6-1, 182 Stafford, Va. Mountain View HS WHAT HE DID Hamilton saw playing time as a freshman before earning a starting role as a sophomore. He had 190 receptions in his career and racked up more than 2,800 total offensive yards. He reportedly runs the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds. Hamilton also has a 4.1 GPA. CENTER OF ATTENTION Tight end Adam Breneman emerges unscathed from a media maelstrom | dam Breneman���s entire Penn State football career lies ahead of him. But no matter what happens during the next four or five years, he���s already done a lot for the Nittany Lions. Pegged the country���s top tight end by a number of recruiting experts, the kid from Camp Hill, Pa., showed maturity beyond his years during one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of the university. It wasn���t just his loyalty to the program that set Breneman apart. It was the fact that he stepped up ��� along with quarterback Christian Hackenberg ��� to serve as an unofficial spokesman for the entire Class of 2013. "I was already pretty comfortable A talking to the media after getting some attention while I was a junior,��� said Breneman, a 6-foot-4, 230pound standout at Cedar Cliff High. ���So I didn���t want to back down from interviews from anyone last spring. I wanted everyone to know why Penn State was still a great place.��� Things were looking up for Breneman until he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee early June. The injury was the first in a series of developments that seemingly threatened to derail his Penn State playing career before it had even begun. In July came the Freeh report, and later that month the NCAA announced its sanctions. Because Breneman was one of the most prominent players in the Nittany Lions��� 2013 recruiting class, a lot of reporters suddenly wanted to talk to him about his commitment. ���The day the sanctions came out, I was in rehab,��� Breneman said. ���My phone was ringing every second, so my therapist took my phone, which was nice. I needed to get away from everything that day. ���When I got it back, I think the first message I had was from the Anderson Cooper show on CNN. They wanted me to come on the show. I also had USA Today leave a message, ESPN���s ���College GameDay,��� all these big-time papers and shows. I mean, CNN. Really? It was pretty crazy.���

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