Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD 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 n the locker room just minutes after the Blue-White Game, Penn State head coach James Franklin called for his team's attention. Spring practice might have just finished, but this was no time to look back. Commanded Franklin, "This has to be a players-driven program from now un- til we start camp [in August]." Because college coaches are permitted to have only limited on-field interaction with their teams throughout the sum- mer, Franklin challenged his players to take charge. What they do over the next three to four months, Franklin contin- ued, will steer the fate of the 2015 season. "They need to take ownership of the program," he said. "We will be as good as they decide to be in the off-season." And he needs no one to be better this summer than one person in particular. You guessed it, quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Dwight Galt will continue to have full reins over the strength and conditioning program – and some expect June to be the year's most grueling month of workouts – but it'll be up to the players themselves, Hackenberg especially, to take the lead on the field. For the offense, it won't be as much about implementing new portions of the playbook as it will be about cohe- sion and continuity. "Linemen can work on their run fun- damentals, their technique, their pass sets – all of that stuff," offensive coor- dinator John Donovan said. "Receivers and tight ends can work on route run- ning [and] catching the ball without us being around. The tight ends can be with the O-line and work on their foot- work in the run game and in the pass game. That's something I felt like we could've done a better job of this spring. They need to continue to get better. We can't show up in the fall and start from scratch again." It'll be up to Hackenberg to tie it all together. A de facto player-coach, his off-season obligations can extend past the offense, too. On the other side of the ball, in addi- tion to focusing on fundamentals and technique on their own, the defensive players will work against Hackenberg and the offense in seven-on-seven situ- ations, sharpening their skills against a player whom defensive coordinator Bob Shoop calls the best quarterback in col- lege football. With a young secondary across from him, Hackenberg can help polish the defense, too. Additionally, Shoop has asked players to sit down with guys on the other side of the line of scrimmage, study game tape and pick each other's brains. Last summer, the NCAA eased restrictions, allowing coaches to analyze film with the team for two hours per week during the off-season. Individually, Shoop wants them to go beyond that. Cross- study with teammates, he asked, and who knows what you'll learn. "This is the most important [time for] the development of the team," Shoop said. "Not just offensive linemen get- ting in and watching the film on their own or as a unit, but sit down and watch it with a defensive lineman. Hey what are you thinking here if I do this? Or What are you thinking there? A corner with a safety; a running back with a linebacker – whatever it is. Hack, maybe, and Marcus Allen sitting down. We have to recognize that we're all a team." And, as the coaches insist, the onus is on someone like Hackenberg to spark the improvement. "It's got to be an emphasis throughout the next couple of months, so they're better than what they were when they left here in the spring," Donovan said. "So we can take that next step faster." If that's what they're going to do, on offense especially, they'll need Hacken- berg at his best, because as teammate Adam Breneman said, "When he speaks, everyone has their undivided attention toward him. He's clearly the leader of this team." Even though he only recently turned 20, Hackenberg has already been through the rigors of two complete col- legiate seasons. He's had his share of ups and his share of downs, 44 of which last season came in the form of sacks. And although at times last year the frustrations appeared to take a toll, Hackenberg has vowed that's not the case. Teammates have taken notice. "Hack has really taken a different out- look, a different kind of role this spring," offensive tackle Andrew Nelson said. "I think he's definitely being a lot more positive, definitely leading the of- fense better than I thought he did last year." That's what they'll need throughout summer workouts, too, and it's a role the soon-to-be junior from Palmyra, Va., embraces – different or not from previous years. "It's different for me in the sense that now I know what to expect," Hacken- berg said. "I know what [coaches] want me to do and how they want me to oper- ate. Now I can build on things." As Franklin hammered home in the Beaver Stadium locker room after the spring scrimmage, building is the most important part of the next few months. Hackenberg also vowed that he's going to "help put this team in the best situa- tion to win games, because ultimately – at the end of the day – that's what it's all about." ■ No time to rest I

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