It’s not a secret that Christian Hackenberg is having a tough year. A sack away from 40 on the season with even more hits, bumps and bruises to go with it.
For the most part Hackenberg’s struggles have been the result of a few things. There are issues with the offensive line, receivers who can’t get open, and the lack of a running game that is only starting to function 10 games into the season. Even so, Penn State coach James Franklin knows there are things his star signal caller can work on, moving forward.
“I think obviously Christian has got really high standards and expectations for himself and who he wants to be and how he wants to play,” Franklin said. “I think there is frustration there with a lot of different things. But I think, again, considering he’s a true sophomore and he’s 19 years old, I think he’s handled it pretty well.”
“I think considering everything that’s happened and how it’s all played out, I think he’s been good. I think he’s getting better every single day. There are some things that we need to continue to work on. Footwork, fundamentals, technique, things like that which are going to be helpful. But I think the other thing is continuing to develop the guys around him, which I’ve talked about before. It’s all of those things. It’s not one factor. It’s all of those things. I think more than anything Hack’s really, really competitive.
“He’s really passionate about what he does and how he does it and has really high standards and expectations. There is nobody harder on hack than hack. I think that’s something that I know we have to be aware of as a staff.”
What Penn State’s staff also has to be aware of are the limitations this particular group of Nittany Lions have as a team. As a result that often means putting Hackenberg in situations that may not be his strength, simply so he has enough time to throw. It’s one thing to be a pocket passer, it’s another thing to actually have a pocket.
“I felt being in the pocket is his strength,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “But a pocket has not been a strength of our offense. So moving the pocket and calling movement passes or nakeds and things like that is a way to protect him. So do I think he’s probably better standing in the pocket and going through his progressions? Yes. But that isn’t necessarily who we’ve been able to be as an offense this year.”
That’s the reality Penn State and Hackenberg face. He hasn’t been perfect and neither has the rest of his offense.
And right now there isn’t much that Hackenberg or Franklin can do about it.
