Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/180984
for the shot, then leaves and goes about his day. Hackenberg and his family don't make much of occurrences like that anymore. They're used to the requests, which have become more frequent in the past few weeks. After the quarterback's closely watched recruitment, publicity has become a fact of life for the Hackenberg family. And in all likelihood, it's only going to increase, given his performance in Penn State's nonconference season, during which he threw for at least 250 yards and a touchdown in each of his first three starts as a Nittany Lion. He also earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors twice in the season's first three weeks. "You're living in a fishbowl if you want that success," said Micky Sullivan, the longtime Fork Union Military Academy head coach who retired after Christian's senior season. Sullivan also coached a number of college and pro greats, including former Ohio State tailback Eddie George. "In today's world, Christian Hackenberg has more publicity than what Eddie George did when he won the Heisman." Long before arriving at Penn State, Hackenberg was a familiar name on the recruiting circuit, the recipient of offers from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Stanford, Virginia and just about every other school in the country. But as he reached his senior season, the national spotlight began to shine its brightest. A year ago, Fork Union's season opener was broadcast on ESPN, and it wasn't out of the ordinary to see television cameras inside the locker room throughout the season. He attended camps in college and NFL stadiums, with droves of photographers capturing every muscle twitch. He's been interviewed. Oh, has he been interviewed. Since his junior year of high school, he's conducted more local and national media interviews – face to face, over the phone, on camera, postgame, pregame, during game – than most of his current teammates, including the seniors. Said Sullivan, "Somebody had a microphone or camera in his face all season long. " Some families might recoil in the face of all that attention, but the Hackenbergs knew how to cope with it. As former college athletes themselves, his parents understand the media's role in sports. Erick was a star quarterback at Marian Catholic in Tamaqua, Pa., and he developed into a Division I recruit himself – albeit in 1988, a decade or so before the Internet transformed recruiting into the media fixation that it is today. Christian's mother, Nikki, was a stand- Lynch happy to keep wearing 'beautiful number' Bill Anderson