Blue White Illustrated

the sobering aftermath of the Sandusky scandal was described as "a linchpin moment for the program." Longtime Penn State followers might have been prepared for Hackenberg's ascent to the starting position – it seemed to be the likely outcome after he essentially passed sophomore returnee Steven Bench on the two-deep before even picking up his high school diploma – but they may not have been prepared for just how much national attention he received. There was a time, after all, when Penn State freshmen were barely acknowledged, even if they were seeing action on Saturdays. Their bios didn't appear in the media guide, and if someone asked Joe Paterno how one of them was faring, the coach would often feign ignorance. "Arrington?" he'd say. "Who's that?" Those unwritten rules began to loosen in the waning years of the Paterno era, and that trend has accelerated under O'Brien, in part because the proliferation of cable sports channels and online media outlets gives national exposure to prospects like Hackenberg and fellow Penn State freshman Adam Breneman even before they leave high school. A generation ago, only a handful of hardcore recruiting geeks would have known about freshman players before they showed up on campus, but those days are long gone. When Hackenberg arrived at Penn State in late June, a sizable percentage of the students he passed on his way to his first class probably recognized him. Instant celebrity is part of the bargain anymore, and high-profile prospects are prepared for it from the start. Said O'Brien, "Any time you have to do this, deal with the media at a young age, the more you do it, the better you get at it." If Hackenberg was familiar to Penn State fans, he was also well known to his future teammates. Breneman had gone to Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia to watch one of his games in 2012, and even the upperclassmen who hadn't seen him in action knew him by reputation. Bren- eman had enrolled in January and been through his first spring practice when Hackenberg arrived, and he was impressed with how quickly he developed a rapport with his teammates. "He came right in and the team embraced him," Breneman said. "He was being a leader out there as a true freshman, which was impressive. A lot of guys looked up to him, whether it was underclassmen or upperclassmen. That's a neat dynamic to have when you have an 18-year-old true freshman quarterback. It shows what a special kind of player Christian is on our team." Hackenberg seized control of his battle with sophomore transfer Tyler Ferguson during a muggy August day in Beaver Stadium. He was taking part in only the 12th practice of his college career, but when O'Brien put two minutes on the clock and told the offensive players that they needed a touchdown to win the drill, Hackenberg led them all the way to the south end zone. There were no fans on hand to lend Fantastic finish Adam Breneman comes on strong in the final month of PSU's season hen the recruiting gurus were gushing about Penn State's 2013 recruiting class, it was plays like this one that they were imagining: Christian Hackenberg rolling right, hitting Adam Breneman in stride and Breneman shaking off an attempted tackle en route to a 68yard touchdown. That was the play that got Penn State rolling in the first quarter of its season finale at Wisconsin, and the Nittany Lions didn't slow down until they had stunned the 14th-ranked Badgers, 31-24. "We just really clicked," Breneman said following the game. "When the offense gets in a groove, we start feeling pretty good. When we're clicking on all cylinders, I don't think W there's anyone who can stop us." The only people who stopped Penn State at the end of its season were the ones at NCAA headquarters who decided to hold the team out of bowl competition for at least one more year. The offense certainly was humming along nicely, and Breneman was a big part of its late-season surge. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder finished his freshman season with 15 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and most of that production came in the Nittany Lions' final five games. In addition to the finale at Wisconsin, he scored touchdowns against Purdue and Nebraska. Coach Bill O'Brien said Breneman made some of his biggest strides this season as a blocker. "When he played in high school, he was used as a wide receiver quite a bit in the slot," O'Brien said. "He wasn't asked to block a whole lot as an in-line blocker. He's improved there. He's stronger. The weight program has helped him already. He's an excellent athlete in the open field, and he'll only continue to get better. As long as he stays healthy, he'll be a heck of a player for us here at Penn State." Breneman was bothered by ankle and foot injuries early in his freshman year, O'Brien said, but his surgically repaired right knee held up just fine. He had missed his senior season at Cedar Cliff High in Harrisburg, Pa., after tearing knee ligaments in a

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