Blue White Illustrated

At times last season, Christian Hack- enberg couldn't completely block out the noise. The Nittany Lions lost three in a row by a touchdown or less, part of a four-game losing streak that followed four consec- utive season-opening wins, and the quarterback acknowledges that there were frustrations. Not just for him, but for everybody at Penn State, including new head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff. What he has learned not to acknowledge, however, is that any lasting conflict developed between him, Franklin and the offensive coaches. Even if he's heard the speculation about it. When his relationship with Franklin, John Donovan and Ricky Rahne came under question at times last season – a transfer had once been rumored – Hack- enberg said he took it personally. "It did bother me a little bit," Hacken- berg said on a conference call with re- porters Tuesday. "But you can't be a prima donna about that. The minute I sat down and talked with those guys, I knew what they wanted to do. I knew that they're football coaches. It's their liveli- hood. It's what they do. So for me, I'm going to buy in and ride the storm out the best I can because they're guys who have the same goal as me. They want to win the game. They want to win as many games as they can. They want to put Penn State in the best situation to be successful as they can. "The people who sort of viewed me as a guy who isn't going to buy into that, it hurt my pride." Even if the competitive fuel overflowed at times, Hackenberg said he and his coaches have maintained "a great rela- tionship" throughout the year. But at first, he couldn't help but listen to some of the public assumptions made about a possible rift forming between him and his coaches. Eventually, though, he learned to not give it much attention. "I knew what we were doing was pro- ductive and positive," Hackenberg said. "So it did bother me, but at the same time I just cared about what [the coaches] thought and what was going on inside the program and what the whole overall mood of the offense was. For me, it was blow it off if it's brought up by anyone other than people that matter." By the time PSU's 7-6 season ended with a bowl win over Boston College, Franklin and his coaching staff were just finishing their 12th month with the pro- gram. It hadn't even been a year. Now during spring practice, almost their second complete, Hackenberg said their rapport continues to head in a pos- itive direction. "I think that relationship has been awesome," he said. "They've supported me, and I've tried to support them as best as I can. I love everything that they're doing. I love their mindset. I love their approach to the game, and I love working with them. They're guys who make me excited about stepping into that building every day because I know there's a focus and I know there's a sincere and genuine care for us to be the best we can be." As a result, he said he's seen a more co- hesive effort from the offensive unit this spring. Although the offense never has it easy going against the defense in the annual spring game, he's hoping the added fa- miliarity is on display at Saturday's Blue- White Game. "I think the big thing is being confident and going out there and being able to ex- ecute consistently," he said. "We exe- cuted very well at times last year, and we didn't as a unit at other times. So [the team is looking for] a consistent per- formance and confidence within the performance. That is the biggest thing. I think if we're able to go out and get that done on Saturday and feel good about what we did and leave it all out there, I think that'll be the biggest takeaway." A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 7 Riding the storm out After a challenging season, Christian Hackenberg says Lions are progressing T I M   O W E N   | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M STANDING TALL Hackenberg drops back during a recent practice drill in Holuba Hall. Photo by Tim Owen

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