Blue White Illustrated

percent of Penn State's total receiving yardage last year, but during his fresh- man season he accounted for 1.2 per- cent of its receiving yards, and that didn't stop him from making a huge impact as a sophomore. So it's by no means unprecedented for a receiver with minimal college experience – or none at all – to quickly shift his career into high gear. The offensive line is a different story. This is an area where you rely on fresh- men at your peril, where the last thing you want is for an 18-year-old kid fresh out of high school to find himself matching up against guys who, in some cases, are less than a year away from be- ing drafted into the NFL. Penn State may have a potential All-Big Ten tackle in Donovan Smith, and that's a good start- ing point for any offensive line. Includ- ing his redshirt season, Smith has three years of experience at Penn State. He's hitting his college peak just when the Nittany Lions need him most. But the other tackles – Mahon, Brosnan, Andr- rew Nelson, Chasz Wright, Noah Beh and Chance Sorrell – have two years of experience between them. Only two have actually played a game in Beaver Stadium to date: Mahon and Wright. And that game was the Blue-White Game, which doesn't really count. The Nittany Lions' reliance on youth underscores just how drastically their handling of freshmen has changed over the past few seasons. For a long time, the baseline assumption at just about every position was that an upperclassman would make fewer mistakes, would play with more poise, would get better re- sults than that kid who just got here and hasn't even made the media guide yet. The coaching staff's oft-repeated mantra held that it was always better to play a guy one game too late than one game too early. That's not the case anymore. And while the NCAA sanctions have forced Penn State's hand, particularly on the offensive line, where the team certainly wouldn't be getting set to play any true freshmen if it had a viable alternative, you get the feeling that the sanctions aren't the only consideration. Franklin has made it clear he's not going to take seniority into account when he puts his depth chart together. In fact, it appears there are a lot of things he isn't going to take into account. "I don't care if you're in-state or out-of-state. I don't care if you're a senior or a freshman. I don't care if you're a returning starter. I don't care if you're scholarship or walk-on," he said recently. "We're going to play the best guys. This is not a little league, po- litical, play-your-son type of deal. We're going to play the best guys." For now, that's likely to mean Penn State will be using a group of inexperi- enced players to protect its most indis- pensible guy. It bears mentioning, how- ever, that Hackenberg himself was de- void of experience when he took over at quarterback, and his quick ascent to the starting lineup worked out pretty well for Penn State. It also bears mentioning that Hacken- berg has expressed a lot of faith in the players who will be protecting him. "They're a bunch of great, hardworking guys," he said, "and I know they're going to get the job done for us." Hackenberg got a bit of experience playing behind that line in the spring game. He attempted 10 passes, complet- ing four for 43 yards. He did send a rip- ple of concern coursing through the sta- dium when he split out wide as part of the Lions' newly installed wildcat set. But even without the customary red jer- sey, he was all but off-limits as far as the White defense was concerned, and he had Franklin literally watching his back, ready to blow the play dead should something dangerous happen. If only the Nittany Lions could do that this fall. ■ he best seat in the house belonged to James Franklin, although, technically speaking, it wasn't a seat at all. Franklin watched the Blue-White Game from the field, stand- ing about 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The idea, he said, was to protect the quarterbacks, a job that his predecessors performed by insisting that their QBs wear red jerseys, but one that Franklin felt he needed to handle personally. "I wanted the officials to call the game, blow the whistle, do those types of things, but I was going to protect the quarterback," he said. "Our players do a great job of that, because they under- stand how we practice. I was going to stand back there and blow the whistle when it was considered a sack. I typical- ly do that in practice every single day, but in a scrimmage, I definitely want to be back there." You can understand Franklin's strong desire to keep Christian Hackenberg upright, even if it had meant throwing a block or two. (It didn't.) The second- year starter was the one player whom Franklin mentioned by name at his in- troduction in January, and Hacken- berg's performance this spring, during which he learned his second playbook in as many seasons at Penn State, did not disappoint. "I think he's comfortable with what's going on," Franklin said. "He has a good understanding of con- cepts. He's getting more comfortable with the terminology. I've been pleased with him. He's extremely 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." If the Nittany Lions' fortunes this fall were dependent entirely on their sopho- more quarterback, you'd be feeling pret- ty good about where things are headed right now. Over the past eight months, the QB position has gone from Penn State's biggest area of concern to its most formidable asset. That's what hap- pens when you come out of the noncon- ference season with a 62 percent com- pletion rate as Hackenberg did last year, and when you make the two-minute drill look like child's play as he did against Michigan, and when you leave everyone wanting more (Wisconsin ex- cepted) after a 339-yard, four-touch- down performance in your season finale. But the Lions' fortunes aren't entirely dependent on Hackenberg. Not even close. This team is going to be extremely young at two position groups that will have a direct bearing on how Hacken- berg performs in 2014: the offensive line (particularly the two starting tackle spots) and wide receiver. This being Blue White Illustrated's annual Newcom- ers of Influence is- sue, we've high- lighted a few of the prospects who are expected to play significant roles this fall, guys like Bren- dan Mahon, Brendan Brosnan and Saeed Blacknall. But if we were to try doing full justice to the newcomers who are likely to have an impact during the coming season, we would run out of ink before running out of newcomers. As Franklin himself has conceded, there's a good chance that everyone in this year's freshman class is going to play. That sounds worrisome, but there are certain positions at which the Nit- tany Lions' extreme youth doesn't fig- ure to be an insurmountable problem. Take the wide receiver spots. Allen Robinson may have accounted for 46 T Patrick Mansell J U D G M E N T C A L L SPRING FLINGS Hackenberg saw lit- tle action in the Blue-White Game, but Franklin was pleased with his performance this spring. "He has a good feel for the game," the Lions' first-year coach said. CASTING CALL Hackenberg's support system gets an overhaul

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