web1_hack-td.jpg

Penn State rallies after Indiana QB Zander Diamont’s taunt

web1_ttl101115MemorialWalk2.jpg

Event remembers those buried at Shawnee Cemetery

<p>He came into the season with a big frame and an even bigger arm, which is why people have Christian Hackenberg pegged as a future pro.</p><p>He&#8217;s hardly looked the part.</p><p>If he wasn&#8217;t throwing bad interceptions under pressure that keeps continuously cracking his rickety offensive line at Penn State, Hackenberg was making some very bad decisions.</p><p>Until Saturday.</p><p>That&#8217;s when Hackenberg really seemed to figure it all out, with the type of head-turning day that could turn him into the first-round NFL Draft pick all the experts keep insisting he&#8217;ll be.</p><p>&#8220;You know, he&#8217;s an NFL quarterback already,&#8221; Penn State safety Marcus Allen said.</p><p>He&#8217;s a defensive back, so he gets to practice against Hackenberg all through the week.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fun going against Hack,&#8221; Allen said. &#8220;He&#8217;s got the greatest passion. He&#8217;ll get everything he can out of a play. And if somebody makes a (defensive) play, they&#8217;ll get after each other. It&#8217;s so much fun.&#8221;</p><p>He gets to see Hackenberg&#8217;s promise each day.</p><p>Penn State fans finally saw it Saturday.</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t so much the sight of Hackenberg running for touchdowns - the first two-score rushing game of his career - that gave him the look of a potential pro star.</p><p>It was more of the way he adjusted and adapted, almost improvising on the run.</p><p>Remember those 10 sacks he took in a season-opening loss to Temple in September that rattled Hackenberg into performing more like a confused college kid rather than a building block for an NFL team?</p><p>That September day seems like the distant past now.</p><p>Hackenberg held his poise, despite suffering four sacks Saturday against Indiana.</p><p>He barely completed half his passes and his total of 262 passing yards wasn&#8217;t really eye-popping.</p><p>What was came with his attention to detail.</p><p>Hackenberg beat Indiana blitzes with short, sharp throws. The junior and three-year starting quarterback threw the ball away more than once, avoiding sacks - or worse yet - those forced throws that sometimes wound up in the arms of the other team.</p><p>He threw the ball deep with more accuracy and consistency than at any time this year. His pair of 39-yard touchdown strikes to Brandon Polk and DaeSean Hamilton were reminiscent of his freshman days, when Hackenberg was regularly looking long to Allen Robinson, who is now in the NFL, and Wyoming Valley West grad Eugene Lewis - who is just now becoming more active in the Lions offense.</p><p>&#8220;I gave the guy my best move and Hack threw a great ball,&#8221; Hamilton said. &#8220;He got a little juiced today. He created his own plays when weren&#8217;t going well in the pocket.&#8221;</p><p>Hackenberg put Penn State&#8217;s 29-7 victory in his pocket with a pair of touchdown scrambles, proving he&#8217;s not quite the statue of a passer people were beginning to say he is. On one of those runs, he passed up the option to toss the ball to Kyle Carter, standing all alone in the end zone in front of him.</p><p>&#8220;Safer play,&#8221; Hackenberg said.</p><p>It&#8217;s a safe bet those things will be noticed when it comes time to evaluate Hackenberg&#8217;s draft stock.</p><p>He&#8217;s expected to pass up his final season at Penn State to enter 2016 NFL Draft, where size, speed and a player&#8217;s potential count much more than past performance.</p><p>But a complete game such as the one Hackenberg played Saturday most certainly can be used as an indicator of what he can bring to his next team.</p><p>&#8220;The thing about him is that he really is a great leader,&#8221; Lions offensive tackle Andrew Nelson said. &#8220;All of us get frustrated sometimes, because we want to do the best we can do. He did a great job in running the offense today. He had some really nice throws, and I&#8217;m proud of him.&#8221;</p><p>The quarterback didn&#8217;t just help Penn State polish off its fifth straight win. He finally looked polished enough to have a chance at being picked where all the draft experts expect him to go.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Paul-Sokoloski-MUG1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Paul-Sokoloski-MUG1.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Paul Sokoloski</p><p>The Huddle</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

The Huddle: Christian Hackenberg finally looks the part of a future pro