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<p>The best day of Christian Hackenberg&#8217;s offseason came on March 17, when he impressed scouts with his work at Penn State&#8217;s pro day.</p><p>Arguably the highest profile NFL employee in attendance was Mike Maccagnan. Six weeks later, the New York Jets general manager made Hackenberg the ostensible future of his franchise with the 51st overall pick in the second round.</p><p>The first Penn State player to be drafted as a quarterback in nearly 20 years highlighted a busy Friday for the Nittany Lions, who also saw defensive tackle Austin Johnson go to the Tennessee Titans (43rd overall) and defensive end Carl Nassib head to the Cleveland Browns at the top of the third round (65th overall).</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just really grateful for the opportunity,&#8221; Hackenberg said on a conference call with Jets reporters. &#8220;I&#8217;m really looking forward to taking the next step and getting in there and starting to get acclimated to everything that&#8217;s going on with the team. I&#8217;m just really excited.&#8221;</p><p>One of the most polarizing prospects in the draft, the Jets are counting on getting the Hackenberg who excelled as a freshman in an NFL offense with a supporting cast of future NFL starters. His first college start back in 2013 even came in the Jets&#8217; MetLife Stadium in a win over Syracuse.</p><p>He is the first Lions quarterback to be drafted to play the position since the Baltimore Ravens selected Wally Richardson in the seventh round of the 1997 draft. Michael Robinson went in the fourth round in 2006, but the San Francisco 49ers picked him as a running back and he ultimately became a Pro Bowl fullback with the Seattle Seahawks.</p><p>&#8220;So thrilled for Christian to hear his named called at the NFL Draft,&#8221; Penn State coach James Franklin said. &#8220;He bled blue and white during his three years at Penn State and we are thankful for his contributions to the program and community.</p><p>&#8220;He has all the tools to be successful at the next level and I know he has a bright future ahead of him with the Jets.&#8221;</p><p>How soon that future will come is an interesting question.</p><p>Last year&#8217;s starter, Ryan Fitzpatrick, remains unsigned as the two sides haven&#8217;t been able to come to terms. The Jets also have dethroned starter Geno Smith and former Baylor star Bryce Petty, who New York took in the fourth round last year.</p><p>The NFL Network reported Friday that the Jets&#8217; plan for Hackenberg is to &#8220;sit him and let him grow, let him be groomed&#8221; for a starting job down the road. His presence, however, could complicate contract talks with Fitzgerald.</p><p>&#8220;(Hackenberg) has shown he can handle adversity,&#8221; said Robinson, now an analyst for NFL Network. &#8220;He has the mental fortitude to handle the New York market.&#8221;</p><p>Though the spotlight was firmly on Hackenberg Friday, he was not the Lions&#8217; best player last fall. That honor fell to Johnson, who fittingly was the first to be drafted.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve targeted Austin Johnson for awhile now,&#8221; Titans general manager Jon Robinson said on a conference call with Tennessee media. &#8220;He&#8217;s versatile.&#8221;</p><p>And he reminds the Titans of another recent draft pick from Penn State, fellow defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, who will be his teammate once again.</p><p>&#8220;Austin has the ability to fit a 3-4 or a 4-3 defensive scheme, which not a lot of guys can do,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;I can see him being a fantastic contributor for the Titans. It&#8217;s also great to see him reunited with his good friend and former teammate DaQuan Jones.&#8221;</p><p>Johnson and Nassib continued an impressive legacy of Penn State defensive linemen in the pros. They became the 13th and 14th linemen to hear their names called since Courtney Brown went first overall in 2000.</p><p>Nassib&#8217;s story may trump any of them, rising up from an unrecruited walk-on to lead the nation in sacks this past fall, winning the Lombardi Award and Hendricks Award.</p><p>&#8220;My comparison is Jared Allen,&#8221; NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. &#8220;He has no clue what he&#8217;s doing yet, but he&#8217;s got length and he plays hard. He has a relentless motor like you cannot believe.&#8221;</p><p>That motor helped him exceed everyone&#8217;s expectations. He even surpassed his own brother &#8212; former Syracuse All-America quarterback Ryan &#8212; who had to wait until the fourth round (No. 11o overall) to hear his own name called in 2013.</p><p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t be more excited for Carl,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;His amazing story of going from walk-on to Lombardi Award winner to Penn State graduate to NFL draft pick is unprecedented. His productivity and tremendous measurables will serve him well at the next level.</p><p>&#8220;The sky&#8217;s the limit for Carl and there will not be anyone that will outwork him.&#8221;</p><p>The draft concludes Saturday with rounds four through seven, beginning at noon. Still on the board for Penn State are defensive lineman Anthony Zettel, tight end Kyle Carter and defensive back Jordan Lucas, among others.</p><p><strong>Reunited &#8212; sort of</strong></p><p>Four years later, Bill O&#8217;Brien is finally going to be coaching Will Fuller.</p><p>The former Penn State coach helped introduce the Notre Dame wide receiver on Friday after his Houston Texans made Fuller their first-round draft pick.</p><p>Fuller, a Philadelphia native, had originally committed to play for O&#8217;Brien and the Lions back in 2012. But the NCAA sanctions against the program dashed that idea and Fuller ultimately signed with the Fighting Irish, where he became one of the country&#8217;s top wideouts.</p><p>Now that they&#8217;re together in the NFL, O&#8217;Brien isn&#8217;t about to hold a grudge.</p><p>&#8220;Yeah, forgive and forget,&#8221; O&#8217;Brien said. &#8220;One of the things I remember about him is when he drove from Philly to Penn State for (a prospect camp). I think he jumped out of the car and (Craig Fitzgerald), our strength coach at the time who is here with us now, said, &#8216;Hey, get on the starting line and run your 40.&#8217;</p><p>&#8220;I think he ran a 4.3 right out of the car driving from three-and-a-half hours away, so we knew he could run. We said this would be a guy that we would like to have in our program. &#8230; We couldn&#8217;t hold on to him at Penn State, but we got familiar with his family. He comes from a great background and we&#8217;re looking forward to working with him.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The New York Jets selected Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_hack5-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The New York Jets selected Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round. </caption0><photoCredit0></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 Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jets select Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg in second round of NFL Draft