Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
What are your hopes for Christian Hackenberg this season and the im- provements he'll make? I think it starts with the protection and the run game. My focus is on those two things: having an offensive line that's going to be able to consistently protect him, and then the running game. Both of those issues start with our of- fensive line. I think those two things will have a greater impact on Hack than anything else. In the games that we showed that we could protect him, he was pretty suc- cessful. And in the games late in the year where we were able to mix in the run, he was pretty successful. The funny thing is that everything connects to the other things. We become less predictable when we're able to mix the run in. I also think the development of our wide receivers, having multiple guys who can create big plays, also puts some stress on the defensive coordinator and on a defense. So I think for Hack, getting the ball out of his hands quickly and making great decisions are important. Obviously we want to make sure that his touchdown- to-interception ratio is what everyone wants it to be. That's really important, but rather than talk about that stat or that goal, to me it's all the other things, the process of running the offense the way it's meant to be run, that will affect those results. It's being able to run the ball, it's being able to protect, it's being able to get the ball out of your hands quickly, it's being willing to step up in the pocket and take the check down. If the check down is not there, it's being able to get us three or four yards, those types of things. Decision-making is the one area in which people questioned his per- formance last year. When you throw the ball to Allen Robinson, whether it's single coverage or double coverage, and he goes up and 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L THIS IS THE ULTIMATE TEAM GAME' ' Penn State's second-year head coach sees signs of widespread improvement as his team prepares for its season I N T E R V I E W J A M E S F R A N K L I N N othing happens in isolation on a football field. It's all con- nected: the blocking schemes, the routes, the reads. When they're in sync, it can be a beautiful thing to behold. When they aren't, the result can be, well, less than beautiful. Penn State was not in sync in 2014. Not on offense, anyway. Inex- perienced up front and at wide re- ceiver, the Nittany Lions' offense turned in a disjointed performance, averaging a Big Ten-worst 20.6 points per game. Thanks to a strong showing by the defense, the Lions were able to scrape together enough wins to become bowl-eligible, and they won that bowl game, but their 7-6 overall record and dreary 2-6 finish in Big Ten play left no one feeling particularly satisfied. It's now been seven months since the Lions wrapped up their first sea- son under James Franklin. With the 2015 season fast approaching, they have worked diligently to learn from last year's missteps and build on its successes. Whether that off-season work translates into an improved record remains to be seen, but as he gears up for his second preseason camp at Penn State, Franklin is feel- ing hopeful. "I actually think we'll be better at every single position on offense," he said. "We're better at quarterback, we're better at running back, I think we'll be better at wide receiver, we're better at tight end, on the offensive line." Franklin recently took the time to talk with Blue White Illustrated's Nate Bauer about Penn State's progress and its hopes for the coming season. Here's what he had to say…