Blue White Illustrated

Ty Howle, John Urschel and Allen Robin- son as he took the reins of O'Brien's of- fense. "I felt like I de7nitely had to grow up quicker in order for the team to succeed, and I think they de7nitely helped me a lot doing so," Hackenberg said. "Guys who have been there, who have been in the limelight, who have lived up to the expectations – they really helped me un- derstand that role and understand the expectations and just roll with it, because that's what you've got to do. You've got to keep your focus on what the goal is at hand and just roll with the punches and try to stay as tight to that line as you can." Inevitably, it's easier in theory than in practice to walk that line. On a campus of more than 45,000 stu- dents, temptations are ever-present – some innocuous, some not. Throw in the ubiquity of camera phones, and Hacken- berg's college experience is anything but anonymous. The fact that so many people are drawn to him – Franklin called him "the alpha male" this spring – only mag- ni7es the possibility that any random mo- ment could end up on Twitter or Instagram or Vine. "My parents talked to me about that before," Hackenberg said, "but I was like, 'Yeah, whatever. Whatever. It's not going to happen. I'll be all right.' So you get out and it actually happens and it's one of those things where you realize quick what the repercussions can be and you learn how to 7x those and straighten it out as quick as you can." The attention has forced him to keep a tight circle of friends. He wants to be the guy out on the 7eld playing, making the calls and leading the team, so as a freshman he consciously made a trade: He would forgo the relative anonymity, relaxation and fun of college life for a crucial year of hands-on development and enormous re- sponsibility. He doesn't regret the choice. The oldest of four brothers, Hackenberg said he's always felt a need to set a good example. In addition, the faculty at Fork Union instilled discipline, and when he got to Penn State last year, he was put in charge of a complex o8ense in which suc- cess required total commitment. Those factors all dovetailed in a way that kept him out of trouble. "For me to come here and be able to play last year, I think that ultimately helped me stay away from things where I could have made worse decisions o8 the 7eld," he said. "Understanding the light that I was in and the role that I had on the team, I think that that helped me stay focused and stay on that line." His approach could hardly have worked out better. Hackenberg completed 231 of 392 passes for 2,955 yards and 20 touch- downs, breaking Penn State freshman records for attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns, and earning fresh- man All-America recognition from mul- tiple publications. The hype has only gotten stronger leading into the 2014 season, as Hackenberg has earned a spot on the Maxwell Award pre- season watch list and was even projected as the No. 1 quarterback to eventually come out in the NFL Dra9 – whenever that might be. But the sophomore signal-caller isn't getting ahead of himself. Calling the ac- colades "an honor," he said he is focused on getting acclimated to a revamped of- fense and a supporting cast that will look very di8erent than it did a year ago. Hackenberg's focus, his ability to re- main on-task despite facing a seemingly endless series of ego-inflating distrac- tions, has made a big impression on his new coach. Franklin said he hasn't seen any signs of attitude or arrogance from his starting quarterback. Just the oppo- site, in fact. "I see a humble, hardworking, curious, competitive guy. I watch him interact with his teammates, I watch him interact with the coaching sta8, I watch him interact with recruits and people in the community, and I haven't seen [any sense of entitle- ment]," Franklin said. "That's one of the things I've been so proud of – how he's handled that. I think that speaks volumes about the kid. I think that speaks volumes about his family and how he was raised, because I have not seen a whole lot of that. I really haven't. I think that's why he's going to have a chance to be really good – because those things are not going to limit his development." Hackenberg says it's simply a matter of having " blinders." He's so focused that he doesn't just study film regularly; he also watches game replays from last season whenever they happen to appear on the Big Ten Network. Oblivious to the novelty of seeing himself on national television and unwilling to sit back and revel in what's already been accom- plished, he imagines that he's back on the field, reading the defense and calling the signals. Sometimes, he regrets his failure to call out an alert or make an adjustment. The goal, he says, is to feel as though he could operate the o8ense blindfolded. In a larger sense, he's already doing that, blocking out the sort of distractions that might keep him from achieving his goals. He's well aware of what surrounds him but is zeroed in on football. The ap- proach is as straightforward as can be: "Just dive into it and just go play ball. I think that's how we're approaching it, and there has to be that understanding, because we are playing with younger guys. It could go one way, it could go an- other way, but whatever way it goes, we're going to do it 1,000 miles an hour, 110 percent. "It's going to be fun." ■

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