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Looming shutdown: Residents divided on blame over county cash crisis

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Back Mountain Chamber held first legislative breakfast

<p>Days before what could be his last time running through the tunnel at Beaver Stadium, Christian Hackenberg recalled his first.</p><p>&#8220;That feels like forever ago,&#8221; Penn State&#8217;s quarterback said this week. &#8220;But it really wasn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p><p>No indeed. Just 26 months and change.</p><p>But a dozen school records and nearly 100 sacks later, it sure feels longer.</p><p>Neither extreme seems so strange in hindsight. Hackenberg had the talent to start immediately for the Nittany Lions as an 18-year-old true freshman, putting him on pace to be Penn State&#8217;s most prolific passer.</p><p>He also knew that he might not have much to work with around him because of NCAA sanctions on the program, especially on the offensive line.</p><p>Those unusual circumstances have created one of the most hotly debated careers in recent school history. And it could be coming to an end soon.</p><p>It had started with Hackenberg looking very calm in his college debut, throwing a clinching touchdown to Eugene Lewis to beat Syracuse in an NFL stadium.</p><p>A week later, however, there were some nerves. Facing a much less threatening Eastern Michigan, Hackenberg&#8217;s first drive in Happy Valley ended with three straight incompletions.</p><p>He was 1-for-5 when he came out at his own 20-yard line, took a sack, fumbled and saw the Eagles return it 11 yards for a touchdown and a stunning 7-0 lead.</p><p>It didn&#8217;t last.</p><p>Hackenberg completed 22 of his next 28 passes for his first career 300-yard game in a 45-7 win.</p><p>&#8220;It was awesome to be able to come out as a freshman, have a lot of guys around me make plays,&#8221; Hackenberg said. &#8220;It was a great experience. It&#8217;s one of those things you really never forget. Your first college game at home, and then we were able to go out and win. So that always helps.&#8221;</p><p>Saturday&#8217;s game against Michigan will be his 21st time taking the field at Beaver Stadium for the Lions.</p><p>Understandably, Hackenberg wasn&#8217;t about to say if he had made up his mind about declaring for the NFL draft after the season &#8212; &#8220;I&#8217;m just focusing on one week at a time,&#8221; he said &#8212; but he didn&#8217;t mind reflecting on his record-setting career this week.</p><p>Hackenberg now owns the majority of Penn State&#8217;s passing records and he&#8217;s got a good chance at setting another in the near future &#8212; he&#8217;s just one career touchdown throw behind Scranton&#8217;s Matt McGloin for first place.</p><p>Perhaps more impressive are the marks that aren&#8217;t being tracked by any record watch.</p><p>&#8220;I think he&#8217;s grown probably as much as any player in the country in terms of leadership,&#8221; Lions coach James Franklin said of Hackenberg, a two-year captain and the only sophomore captain in program history. &#8220;And in terms of adversity, in terms of all the things that he&#8217;s been through in a very, very short period of time and how he&#8217;s handled it.</p><p>&#8220;I think this year he&#8217;s much more comfortable in that (leadership) role. And I think he was comfortable in that role last year, but maybe not all of it. This year, he&#8217;s got a lot of it on his shoulders, but now he&#8217;s been in that position before.&#8221;</p><p>In nearly three full seasons leading the Lions, Hackenberg has missed exactly one snap of any consequence &#8212; he was forced to come out for a play last month against Maryland after being shaken up late in the first half.</p><p>His mere presence on the field and off has made an impact for a Penn State program that needed to keep its head above water through scandal and sanctions.</p><p>As one of the highest rated players in the country in the 2013 recruiting class, Hackenberg&#8217;s decision to stick with the Lions despite scholarship reductions and a bowl ban sent a signal to other recruits that Penn State wasn&#8217;t completely toxic.</p><p>&#8220;If you think about the impact that Christian Hackenberg has had on our program the last three years &#8212; and where this program would have been without him &#8212; I think it&#8217;s pretty significant,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;And I think that&#8217;s the thing to me that probably isn&#8217;t talked about enough.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody just kind of looks at the win-loss record. They look at the recruiting class ranking. They look at the touchdown-to-interception ratio or the completion percentage. And there&#8217;s so much more to the story than just that about individual players, about individual programs, about all those things. To me, that&#8217;s the thing that I don&#8217;t think is discussed enough.&#8221;</p><p>Of course, the huge pedigree brought huge expectations. Especially after Hackenberg torched Wisconsin on the road at the end of his freshman season, throwing for 339 yards and four touchdowns in the Lions&#8217; last win over a ranked team.</p><p>Between a new coaching staff and a much younger supporting cast around him, Hackenberg&#8217;s numbers went down his sophomore season. And though he has rebounded as a junior, dramatically cutting down his interceptions in particular, the criticism from scouts, pundits and fans alike has remained.</p><p>&#8220;It is what it is,&#8221; Hackenberg said. &#8220;It&#8217;s part of being where you are as a player at this level and especially at a program like Penn State. It&#8217;s part of the deal. So just focus in on what you can control and the things you have control over is ultimately what you&#8217;ve got to do.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m enjoying the process. So not really paying too much attention to it.&#8221;</p><p>He&#8217;s not going to dwell on this week&#8217;s matchup against the No. 12 Wolverines, a chance to impress against a highly regarded defense led by former NFL boss Jim Harbaugh.</p><p>Nor is he going to put too much emphasis of running out onto the new Beaver Stadium sod for the last time this year. And perhaps beyond.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one of those things that doesn&#8217;t change,&#8221; Hackenberg said. &#8220;Walking out of that tunnel is special every Saturday, and it&#8217;s something that you look forward to, and it&#8217;s something that is kind of ingrained in your brain as you move forward.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something that is really special to each and every one of these guys.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">With a decision on the NFL draft looming in the next two months, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) could be playing his final game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_hack-sideline3.jpg</photo0><caption0>With a decision on the NFL draft looming in the next two months, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) could be playing his final game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Matt Marton | AP photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_hack-point1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) during an NCAA college football game against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.,  Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_hack-point1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) during an NCAA college football game against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.,  Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)</caption1><photoCredit1>Matt Marton | AP photo Christian Hackenberg (14) owns most of Penn State&#8217;s career passing records, but he also is nearing 100 sacks in his three seasons. </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Michigan at Penn State</p><p>Noon, Saturday, ABC</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Three years and many extremes for Penn State’s Hackenberg