PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 13: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions hugs quarterback Christian Hackenberg #14 after a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium on September 13, 2014 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Penn State defeated Rutgers 13-10. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Christian Hackenberg is an enigma. Once hailed as a franchise savior, the Penn State quarterback is now a borderline first-round NFL draft pick with a ton of questions surrounding his potential.

We documented the fall of the once can’t-miss prospect and now the MMQB has an in-depth look at how Hackenberg dealt with his rocky time at Penn State.

Hackenberg wowed as a high schooler, and carried that momentum into his freshman season in Happy Valley. As an 18-year-old starter he showed flashes of brilliance in head coach Bill O’Brien’s offense that had scouts drooling. His best performance arguably came in an upset win against a loaded Wisconsin team at Camp Randall where he completed 21-of-30 passes and threw for 339 yards and four scores.

“He was ahead of his years at 18 years old, more than any other kid I’ve been around, really,” says Charlie Fisher, Hackenberg’s position coach as a freshman. “That Wisconsin game put an exclamation mark on his growth.”

After that season, O’Brien left for the NFL and the NCAA sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal really made their presence felt.

[Allen] Robinson was playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Guard John Urschel and tackle Garry Gilliam were also off to the NFL, two of four starters lost on the offensive line. Because of NCAA sanctions it was a patchwork unit: Donovan Smith was the only scholarship offensive tackle who was not a freshman, and the guard spots were plugged by two converted defensive linemen. For Hackenberg, a sophomore funk set in.

“For a while, Christian shut down, I think, with everybody,” says Micky Sullivan, his high school coach. “I would call him once a week and leave a message, sometimes twice a week, and I wouldn’t hear from him. He was struggling because he took so much responsibility, and the results weren’t good. He just kind of turned into himself.”

New head coach James Franklin and Hackenberg never seemed to click from the start. Whether due to the lack of talent around him, or a change in scheme, his numbers dipped precipitously during his next two seasons. When he declared for the draft, Hackenberg manage to thank a lot of key personnel but left out Franklin. Much ado was made of this slip, and NFL teams showed interest in the pair’s uneven relationship.

Two NFL teams who met with Hackenberg at the combine said they specifically asked Hackenberg about his omission. His answer was the same one he gives publicly: He found Franklin afterward, and thanked him one on one.

No one, not even Hackenberg, tries to hide the fact that his relationship with Franklin was different than it was with O’Brien. As a five-star high school recruit, he chose O’Brien. And O’Brien was the offensive coordinator and a fixture in the quarterbacks room, whereas Hackenberg spent less time with Franklin, who devoted his attention to recruiting and rebuilding a viable roster after the sanctions.

As for reports that Hackenberg threw Franklin under the bus during pre-draft interviews, the quarterback denies placing the blame anywhere but on himself.

“It was a very easy answer for me. There are some things that I have to get better at, and that’s the way I approached it going into the interviews,” Hackenberg says. “It’s the greatest team game on the planet, but you have to be able to uphold your end of the bargain. I did that at times, and at times I didn’t. That’s the messaging I wanted to get across, is here’s where I could have gotten better. I own everything I put on tape. I did it. It wasn’t anyone pulling the trigger but No. 14.”

As for predictions on where he might land, NFL general managers are torn. On one hand the see the potential from his freshman year, but wonder if he has the strength to overcome the adversity necessary to becoming a franchise quarterback.

Said the NFL head coach: “Everybody thinks he struggled the last two years, and he has. I can see him being evaluated down a little bit, because he hasn’t progressed. But is the talent there? Yes it is. He needs to focus on his fundamentals and getting his confidence back, because he’s not playing with the confidence he did as a younger player.”

Said the senior personnel executive: “If you draft him in the second round or higher, it’s because he’s 6-4, has a good arm, has upside, and you know he can learn. But of course there’s a concern, because you always want to see it on tape first.”

Where Hackenberg lands will be one of the more intriguing storylines come NFL draft time. You can read the entire piece on his journey to this point, here.

[MMQB]

About Ben Sieck

Ben is a recent graduate of Butler University where he served as Managing Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Butler Collegian. He currently resides in Indianapolis.

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