Blue White Illustrated

As a kid, Christian Hackenberg played a little defensive end. It was a size thing, he explained: "I was always bigger." But aside from that, he'd always lined up at quarter- back – until the Blue-White Game. As part of the team's new wildcat pack- age – and no, there's no additional cutesy name, as James Franklin said he doesn't have enough time to devise one –Hack- enberg lined up twice Saturday as a wideout, once to each side. "It was pretty cool," he said. But that's not, of course, Hackenberg's primary role. Only the second true freshman to start at quarterback since 1911, Hackenberg threw for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns and was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year. His poise under pressure, particularly in overtime, raised already high expectations for the rest of his Penn State career. He starts his sophomore season, how- ever, with some difficulties. With a new coaching staff, he's had to learn a new of- fensive scheme and terminology. With- out Allen Robinson, who declared for the NFL Draft, he needs to develop a go-to wideout. And with a lack of depth on the offensive line – Franklin said he can't re- member having another team without two scholarship players at each position –getting rid of the ball quickly and stay- ing healthy will be keys, as well. "I think he's comfortable with what's going on," Franklin said. "He's getting more comfortable with the terminology. I've been pleased with him. He's ex- tremely accurate. He has a really good feel for the game. He has great arm strength, and I think we're going to be able to do some things to help him as well." It's no surprise that Hackenberg played sparingly – only four series, and he threw only 10 passes, completing four of them for 43 yards. (He did not, however, wear a red jersey, but Franklin stood behind the offense, ready to whistle the play dead if it looked as though a sack were going to happen.) He spent the rest of the game on the sideline, occasionally helping to signal in plays to his backup. Highly touted recruit Michael O'Connor, who enrolled in Jan- uary, completed 11 of 16 passes for 81 yards for Hackenberg's Blue team. (For the White team, D.J. Crook got most of the work, completing 10 of 17 passes for 68 yards and two interceptions; Austin Whipple completed 1 of 6 passes for 7 yards and an interception.) The most strenuous part of his day may have been the pregame autograph ses- sion; the line of fans wanting his signa- ture was particularly long. "It's an honor to be able to see the little kids come up and understand I was the kid at one time," he said. Best autograph he got as a kid? John Elway at a University of Virginia game. "That was a big thing for me," he said. Hackenberg described the offense as "more of a West Coast style." He ex- plained, "It's concept-based. A lot of shorter routes, being able to get the ball to a lot of guys and spread it around." This summer, he said, will be particu- larly important as he works with a rela- tively young corps of receivers – Geno Lewis primary among them – to get a better feel for the offense and for timing. "We hadn't even broken a huddle until the first practice of the spring, and com- ing along as far as we have from that first practice to now is a testament to how hard this team has worked on both sides of the ball," he said. "I'm really excited about the opportunity we have to dive deeper into the offense this season." Steve Manuel A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 Making adjustments L O R I   S H O N T Z | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I B U T O R Christian Hackenberg adapts to the Nittany Lions' new offense this spring DEEP THOUGHTS Hackenberg wasn't able to connect on any big-gainers in the Blue-White Game, but he was pleased with how the passing game came together this spring.

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