In what was one of the most embarrasing losses in Penn State Nittany Lions history, Christian Hackenberg was sacked 10 times and was only 11-25 for 103 yards and an interception in a 27-10 loss to Temple. The same issues from last season arose again, the offensive line was atrocious, the play-calling was horrible, and Hackenberg made some poor throws. After the game, social media went ablaze as many were dubbing Hackenberg as an "awful quarterback" and "no team in the NFL should draft him, even in the 7th round." This writer scrolled through countless tweets saying the same thing. These tweets should be taken with a grain of salt.
The fact of the matter is this: Hackenberg's days of being a great, or even a serviceable, college quarterback are over. Penn State fans hate to admit it, but it's true. Now, this is not his fault. The offensive line is one of the worst in the entire country. They allowed 44 sacks last year which was third most in the nation and had nearly a quarter of that total in the first game of the year with 10. They are on track to allow 120 sacks in the regular season, 130 if Penn State makes a bowl game. Now, the offensive line likely won't allow nearly as many sacks as that, but it is an alarming stat. The offensive line couldn't stop Temple's delayed blitzes, and even allowed a sack on a two-man rush. (There are five offensive lineman.) Hackenberg has absolutely no time to throw in the pocket.
The second issue Hackenberg faces is the offense. When Bill O'Brien coached Hackenberg in his true Freshman season, he ran a pro-style offense where Hackenberg was required to make reads and go through his progressions, much like an NFL offense. Hackenberg thrived in the offense, throwing for 2,955 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Once again, he was a true freshman in an NFL-type offense. To be fair, the offensive line was decent and he had Allen Robinson to throw to but he still was impressive nonetheless. When O'Brien left to become the head coach of the Houston Texans, the Nittany Lions hired James Franklin to be the Head Coach and he brought along John Donovan to be his Offensive Coordinator. Franklin's new offense was drastically different. Hackenberg was not required to go through his progressions and instead throw screens on nearly every play. This resulted in Hackenberg throwing for only 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Franklin's offense is built for a dual-threat quarterback, which Hackenberg isn't. Next year, when it is likely that redshirt Freshman Trace McSorley takes over, he will be a better fit as he is a dual-threat.
So what makes Hackenberg a top NFL prospect? Simply put, his freshman tape. When Hackenberg had a normal amount of time in the pocket and was able to go through his progressions he was the quarterback that scouts once called "An Andrew Luck-type prospect". His arm strength is second only to Ohio State's Cardale Jones, but he cannot flash it due to no time in the pocket and the offense is predicated off of screens and short passes. He also has a "clutch gene" in him, as he led the team to game-winning or tying drives on many occasions, most notably in 2013 vs. #18 Michigan, 2014 vs. UCF, at Rutgers, and vs. #13 Ohio State (the eventual national champion).
Penn State's play-calling was horrific. It was largely made up of three plays: A wide receiver jet sweep, a fake wide receiver jet sweep hand off to running back, and a fake wide receiver jet sweep play action pass. It was predictable. The offensive line cannot block. They allowed a sack on a two-man rush for crying out loud. For these reasons, there is a great chance that Donovan and offensive line coach Herb Hand are fired. This writer would like to see them with McSorley starting however.
Now, this is not to say that Hackenberg doesn't deserve any blame. He throws many easy passes off target and has a gun-slinger mentality in that he throws into tight coverages due to over-confidence in his arm. However, he is still one of the most talented quarterbacks in the nation.
Bottom line: Hackenberg is done at Penn State. He won't be the Heisman winner that the Nittany Lions faithful hoped and dreamed, nor will he lead the team to a major bowl game. He will put up poor numbers again this season and he will be sacked on almost every time he drops back. Penn State's offense will be bad again, and the defense will once again have to be amazing to carry the team to a bowl game. However, please don't cross off Hackenberg's name for the 2016 NFL Draft. (Yes, he will declare for the 2016 NFL Draft. What do you think he's going to willingly decide to suffer through another season of this and potentially lose even more millions by falling even further in the 2017 NFL Draft?) He is going to be a franchise quarterback, mark my words. Hopefully, the Texans trade up to draft him so he can be reunited with O'Brien. (Same thing as the rumors of a Chip Kelly-Marcus Mariota reunion with the Philadelphia Eagles.) If you don't beieve yours truly, which seems like most of the country doesn't, please just watch the tape of him as a true freshman against #15 Wisconsin and #18 Michigan here.
Hackenberg's days as a Nittany Lion will be looked at as very disappointing since he was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. But his NFL future remains blindingly bright.