P R E V I E W
with how he handled things.
"I am really, really proud of Christian.
I'm really protective of him because now
looking back at everything, how he handled
it, I think he handled it unbelievably well."
Having persevered through a di=cult
season, both player and coach are enthu-
siastically ready to roll. With the oed, everything is ready to
go, and I think that's the biggest thing
about this 2015 season that makes it so
intriguing," Hackenberg said. "We have
the experiences, we're comfortable in
what we're doing. We know what the ex-
pectations are on a weekly basis. Now it's
time to just start going to work."
At the top of his checklist, Hackenberg
plans to help create a standard of consis-
tency in his young, talented corps of wide-
outs. The Nittany Lions return all but two
players who caught passes last season,
and the combination of DaeSean Hamilton,
Geno Lewis, Chris Godwin and Saeed
Blacknall could be potent. Add tight ends
Kyle Carter, Mike Gesicki and Adam Bren-
eman to the mix, and the stable of options
grows larger. The Lions are also welcoming
DeAndre Thompkins into the fold follow-
ing a redshirt season, as well as three red-
shirt freshman running backs, and another
set of true freshman skill position guys.
Hackenberg is excited about the in;ux of
talent.
"Once those guys start getting it and
realizing how big of an impact they can
make, understanding it and being able to
do it on a consistent basis, that's when
you're going to see consistent production,"
he said. "For me, it's all about consistency –
being the same guy over and over again
as much as you can. I feel like this year,
guys understand that, and consistency is
becoming something that's big for us as
an o
