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<p>Christian Hackenberg laughed. For reporters, it was a rare sight this offseason.</p><p>Away from the media spotlight and the NFL scrutiny, things are different. But in front of the cameras, the Penn State quarterback has had a mostly business-like demeanor as he prepares for the 2015 season.</p><p>So what got him to crack on Tuesday?</p><p>It seems his leading receiver from a year ago &#8212; one DaeSean Hamilton &#8212; teasingly referred to Hackenberg as, uh, &#8220;a big dork&#8221; during an interview in training camp.</p><p>When asked about it, the junior signal-caller managed to slip in one cliche &#8212; &#8220;It is what it is&#8221; &#8212; before starting to laugh about it.</p><p>&#8220;DaeSean is one of my best friends, so I&#8217;m sure that was in a very joshing manner,&#8221; Hackenberg said. &#8220;I am who I am. I think you guys have a pretty good idea of who I am. So you know, I have no comment other than that.&#8221;</p><p>And then another laugh.</p><p>A little bit of humor, no matter how simple, couldn&#8217;t hurt. Laughs of any kind were hard to come by last October and through most of November as the Nittany Lions lost six of their last eight regular season games and Hackenberg was sacked more than any other FBS quarterback in the country.</p><p>Those around Hackenberg say he seems looser as the Lions get ready to take on Temple in Saturday&#8217;s season opener.</p><p>Penn State coach James Franklin said multiple times in 2014 that his concern wasn&#8217;t Hackenberg, but rather the pieces around him on offense.</p><p>This year is different.</p><p>&#8220;I feel much better about it, and I see Christian so much more relaxed and so much more confident right now as a player and as a leader because of that,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;He&#8217;s really taken control of the offense and that side of the ball.&#8221;</p><p>And though it may not always show in public, Hackenberg has been enjoying himself.</p><p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve always had fun,&#8221; Hackenberg said. &#8220;I think the guys in the locker room have seen that. And I try and just be the best teammate I can be for each and every one of those guys. Someone who they can call on Saturday night if they need me. Or if they want to watch film, I&#8217;ll be there in a heartbeat for them. So that&#8217;s how I try and approach it.</p><p>&#8220;You only get to play college football once, so you might as well have fun with it. It&#8217;s a great experience, and you never get that type of environment again.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Donovan back upstairs</strong></p><p>During last fall&#8217;s losing skid, Lions coaches tried to switch things up by bringing offensive coordinator John Donovan down from the booth to the sideline.</p><p>Donovan had typically called plays from upstairs but experimented with a field-level approach because it had worked for Hackenberg the year before when former coach Bill O&#8217;Brien was running the offense.</p><p>At the start of training camp, Donovan said he would &#8220;most likely&#8221; remain on the sideline, but Franklin said Tuesday that Donovan will return to his preferred perch. Quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne will move from the booth to the field.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s any doubt that the best place to call a game from is in the booth,&#8221; said Franklin, a former offensive coordinator himself. &#8220;You&#8217;re away from the emotion of the game. You got the best view of what&#8217;s actually happening on the field. You can take notes. You can study tendencies. It&#8217;s just a better environment, in my opinion.</p><p>&#8220;But in the past we&#8217;ve had Ricky in the booth as well. So I did think the conversation and the communication on the sideline with Hack is critical. But the only way I thought it would make sense is if Ricky came down to the sideline, and Hack was in agreement with that and OK with that. So was John and so was Ricky.&#8221;</p><p>Hackenberg endorsed the switch, saying that he thought it was important to have either Donovan or Rahne on the sideline to help with communication.</p><p>&#8220;Whatever they were most comfortable with,&#8221; Hackenberg said, &#8220;we were most comfortable with.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Banged-up Owls</strong></p><p>Penn State will be breaking in a new left tackle on Saturday when Paris Palmer makes his first start for the Lions. His job may be a little less daunting than expected.</p><p>Temple&#8217;s top pass-rusher, senior defensive end Praise Martin-Oguike, did not appear on the team&#8217;s depth chart this week and sounds likely to miss the game with an injury.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know if he&#8217;ll be able to go this week, honestly,&#8221; Owls coach Matt Rhule said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. &#8220;Obviously he would help us against Penn State, don&#8217;t get me wrong. But we need Praise to be healthy. For him to go out and limp around&#8230;</p><p>&#8220;When he&#8217;s ready, he&#8217;ll be ready. But I just don&#8217;t know that he&#8217;s even close to full speed to be able to play this week.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg heads into the 2015 season looser and more confident. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_hack5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg heads into the 2015 season looser and more confident. </caption0><photoCredit0>Keith Srakocic | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Relaxed’ Hackenberg ready to get started