Blue White Illustrated

of the true freshmen ��� and the coaching staff clearly wants to see how quickly the five-star prospect can learn the offense before making a final decision. ���Certainly he���ll be in the mix,��� O���Brien said. ���At every single position, we are going to play the best players, [and] Christian can���t do anything about the fact that he can���t be here until June. ���Obviously we named Matt the starter [last year], but when Steven Bench came in, he worked his way up the depth chart to No. 2. So yeah, Christian will come in and we���ll teach him the offense and give him some reps and see how he does, certainly.��� Even if Hackenberg were in the mix this spring, the Blue-White Game wouldn���t be the decisive factor in whether he gets the job. The game gets a lot of attention because it���s open to the public, but as far as the coaches are concerned, it���s just one of 15 sessions that must be evaluated. Still, that doesn���t mean we can���t have some fun watching Bench and Ferguson battle it out in Beaver Stadium. Both were pretty much unknowns at the start of winter workouts, as Ferguson only enrolled in January and Bench didn���t see a lot of game action or practice repititions last season with the coaching staff devoting its full attention to McGloin. At Penn State���s open practice on March 27, they looked to be getting the same number of reps, and both displayed lively arms. O���Brien has said he���s ���not into alternating quarterbacks,��� and he certainly proved that point last year by declining to play Bench even in the games against Iowa and Illinois that had been decided by the fourth quarter. He hasn���t completely ruled out the prospect of a platoon system, but it seems pretty clear he isn���t interested in using the regular season as an extended tryout. He also said earlier this spring that he would like to make a decision a few weeks before the opener against Syracuse. If the coaches hold to that timetable, Hackenberg will have only about two weeks to make his case. That would seem to give Ferguson and Bench a big edge, but Hackenberg looks to be a quick study. While learning a collegiate offense in time for the opener would be a major challenge, Penn State���s nonconference schedule doesn���t feature any BCS powerhouses, and the team���s first Big Ten game is against Indiana, so a young quarterback would have a chance to get acclimated before having to face the likes of Michigan and Ohio State. O���Brien has strived to create a competitive atmosphere throughout the program, and he doesn���t have any preconceptions about whether it would be best to redshirt Hackenberg as a true freshman. So if the coaching staff thinks he���s the best guy for the job, we���ll probably see him on the field. That���s exactly what happened in high school, as Hackenberg initially saw action only in the hurry-up offense at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy but eventually unseated a returning starter TYLER FERGUSON | 6-3, 199, SO. WHAT HE DID As a true freshman at College of the Sequoias, Ferguson threw for 2,614 yards, 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His best game was a 481yard, six-touchdown performance against West Hills Coaligna on Sept. 8. During the 10-game season, he surpassed 300 yards on three occasions, but he also threw multiple interceptions in three games. His team finished the season with a 4-6 record. QUOTABLE Bill O���Brien, sizing up the quarterback competition heading into spring practice: ���I would say Steven probably knows [the offense] a little bit better than Tyler right now just because he���s been here for a year. That���s not Tyler���s fault. He���s catching up and he���s doing a good job learning.��� THE SKINNY Formerly of Ridgeview High in Bakersfield, Calif., Ferguson watched his initial Division I hopes disappear when he broke his collarbone toward the end of his senior season. He enrolled at COS in hope of gaining more recruiting exposure, not out of academic necessity. That decision paid off, as he earned offers from Houston, Akron and Florida Atlantic. He committed to Houston but quickly rescinded that commitment when the Lions invited him to campus. Ferguson is slightly taller than Steven Bench, but also a touch skinnier. He appears to throw with more velocity and, at times, with better accuracy than Bench. But Bench may be more comfortable with the offensive system, his coaches and teammates. PHIL���S TAKE For Ferguson, this is a five-step process. He needs to physically mature, be in the film room every day with Charlie Fisher, make the most of his spring practice repetitions, immerse himself in the playbook and work out on a daily basis in informal seven-on-seven drills to develop timing with the wideouts. Tim Owen

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