ollowing the Blue-White Game,
Penn State head coach James
Franklin made his way into a
buzzing Beaver Stadium media room
packed with journalists, cameramen
and recruits with their families.
As per routine, he offered an intro-
ductory statement in which he dis-
cussed his team's performance, then
moved on to questions.
The first was about his quarterback.
Junior signal-caller Christian Hacken-
berg had just completed 17 of 29 passes
for 180 yards and a touchdown to lead
his Blue squad to a 17-7 victory.
That Hackenberg, a two-year starter,
saw three quarters of action in the
spring game was largely a result of Trace
McSorley's absence due to an unspeci-
fied minor injury. Veteran starters usu-
ally make only brief appearances, but in
this instance, Hackenberg's constant
presence was fitting. Seemingly born to
lead, the second-youngest player to
ever be selected captain in program his-
tory is a year older, wiser, and seasoned
beyond his years.
Under severe stresses throughout the
2014 season, the then-sophomore ex-
perienced ups and downs on his way to
a season-ending MVP performance in
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Christian Hackenberg gets set to take charge of the Lions' summer workouts
F
J U D G M E N T C A L L
RUNNING
ROOM
Hackenberg
played three
quarters in the
Blue-White
Game, passing
for 180 yards in
the Blue's 17-7
victory. Photo
by Steve
Manuel
