UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Christian Hackenberg was born in 1995, so he didn’t witness firsthand any of the record-setting offense employed by the 1994 Penn State team and quarterback Kerry Collins. But his father had a friend who played at Penn State around that time. As he grew up, Hackenberg was always cognizant of 1994 and what it meant to Penn State.
After Friday’s walkthrough, Hackenberg met Collins for the first time. They talked a bit, exchanged numbers. Hackenberg hopes to stay in touch.
“He’s a guy who’s been there and done everything I want to do as a player,” he said.
Through two games in his sophomore year, Hackenberg is on his way to duplicating some of Collins’ feats, setting the program’s single-game passing record of 454 yards. Even with that superlative, Hackenberg can’t help but look at a few mistakes. He has two interceptions in both of Penn State’s games, with both against Akron coming in the red zone.
“It’s frustrating to me because I know that I could play so much better and there’s always three or four plays during the game so far, the last two games, I wish I could have them back,” Hackenberg said. “But at the end of the day, a win’s a win.”
And at the end of the day, Hackenberg still has some of the best numbers of any quarterback in the nation. He ranks fourth in Division I-A in passing yards with 773. He has completed 65 percent of his passes.
The major problems have been those interceptions. Like against Central Florida, Penn State didn’t score as much as it should have against Akron, given its amount of passing yards. Twice in the red zone, Hackenberg targeted receivers who were well-covered and misfired. The first interception, in the second quarter, halted momentum Penn State wouldn’t recover until late in the third. The second interception was returned by Central Florida past midfield and threatened Penn State’s 14-3 lead.
Coach James Franklin said the staff would work on any problems Hackenberg may be having with his pass selection. He also pointed to other factors that could be inhibiting him, such as pass protection or an inconsistent running game that has made Penn State more reliant on throwing.
“It’s never all Hack when things go well, and it’s never all Hack when you have turnovers like that,” Franklin said. “But he knows just as well as the rest of us do. There’s no doubt.”
Hackenberg said he has always liked to take the game into his own hands. The attitude has led to him making tough throws that end up being successful and others that lead to incompletions or turnovers.
As he continues with his sophomore year, he wants to do whatever is needed to help Penn State thrive.
“Listen, man,” Hackenberg said. “At the end of the day, it’s what you’ve got to do to win football games.”
Mark Dent: mdent@post-gazette.com, 412-439-3791 and Twitter @mdent05.
First Published: September 8, 2014, 4:00 a.m.