STATE COLLEGE — The numbers speak for themselves, and Christian Hackenberg knows the story they tell.
Through three games this season, Penn State’s junior quarterback has thrown more incompletions (36) than completions (35). He has thrown more interceptions (2) than touchdown passes (1).
None of it adds up to obvious improvement for a signal-caller who struggled to find his footing behind a rickety offensive line in 2014.
It doesn’t inspire the confidence of a fan base, either, that had so much hope that his four-touchdown performance in December’s Pinstripe Bowl win over Boston College would be a springboard into a monstrous 2015.
But for Hackenberg, there are different ways to measure success as a quarterback, and as he readied for Saturday’s battle against San Diego State at Beaver Stadium, he held
tight to the idea that the first three games of Penn State’s roller-coaster-ride of a season have given him a foundation on which to build.
“I think the Buffalo game was probably one of the better games I’ve played,” Hackenberg said. “Last week, there were some things I could improve on at times. But mentally, I think I played well. Physically, there were just too many inconsistencies for my liking.
“I just want to implement the game plan to the highest level of efficiency I can. That’s my goal, to control what I can control.”
Consistent in his praise of Hackenberg’s play throughout the season so far has been head coach James Franklin, the man who implements those game plans.
With Penn State’s struggles along the offensive line developing into a major issue for most of the past year, Franklin said the passing game has had to be a bit more reserved for the good of the team and, in a sense, for Hackenberg’s own good as well.
He admits that Hackenberg has, in spurts, fought some mechanical issues, namely with his footwork, that have made his accuracy on shorter throws unreliable at times. But Franklin also noted that Hackenberg has had to play two games in steady downpours this season while also conceding that a receiving corps that has been as inconsistent as it can be explosive hasn’t held on to some catchable passes that would have improved the overall look of Hackenberg’s statistics.
“It’s going to evolve,” Franklin said of the passing game. “We’ve shown that we’ve been able to do those things in the past. We’ve got the wide receivers to do it. We’ve got the tight ends to do it. It’s going to be a gradual thing, and we’re going to allow it to grow over time.”
For now, Hackenberg said he’ll continue to do what the game plan asks of him, and that mostly calls for him to be as sharp as he can be before the snap.
Against Rutgers last week, Franklin noted Hackenberg made several adjustments to the play call at the line of scrimmage after reading the Scarlet Knights’ defensive alignment that helped put Penn State in position to make big plays. On running back Akeel Lynch’s 75-yard, untouched dash to the end zone in the second quarter, Hackenberg made several pre-snap calls to get his teammates on the same page.
He couldn’t do it, he said, without a greater dedication to film study, his knack for which has evolved during his days at Penn State.
Preparing to face the Aztecs this week, Hackenberg said his typical time in the film room involves watching the previous day’s practice before moving on to the defensive films provided. He’ll watch cut-up after cut-up of San Diego State, walking into the room with a list of notes to make sure his focus remains where it needs to be.
“That’s something I picked up as I got older,” Hackenberg said. “I guess, the more people I talked to, the wiser I got with it. You can get caught up in watching the film and not get as much done as you should be. If you have a checklist, you know what you have to get done. It’s right there in front of you. It gives you a tool to make sure you’re focused on what you’ve got to focus on.”
The result has been a better overall view of the defense that, quite frankly, his young receivers don’t yet share.
That’s something he expects will change as the season progresses and, once it does, that rededication to the passing game Franklin spoke about will likely start to take shape.
“When you’re able to see what they do, on a consistent basis, and in addition to (my) footwork, that’s what’s going to work,” Hackenberg said.