Warning: This is an opinion piece
Christian Hackenberg, he’s only 18 but he plays with the confidence of a 5th year senior. If last night’s Penn State upset victory over 18th ranked Michigan in quadruple overtime didn’t prove that Christian Hackenberg has the tools to become an star college quarterback than nothing will.
The Background Story:
After Michigan ate up five minutes and 45 seconds of game time (6:50 – 0:5o). Penn State had a total of 50 seconds to try to stage a late comeback drive against one of the toughest defense to score on in big time situations. It wasn’t going to be a short drive either it was going to be an 80 yard drive. To Christian Hackenberg, it seemed just to be another drive for the true freshman. First play of the drive, Hackenberg dropped back and hit Penn State’s top target Allen Robinson on a pass to the sidelines where Allen Robinson made one of the best catches of his career dragging his toe inbounds as he fell out of bounds into the Penn State sideline. Now, Penn State is at the 34 yard line. Hackenberg drops back again and throws a 34 yard pass to WR Brandon Felder who makes a phenomenal catch in triple coverage. Penn State’s now at the Michigan 37, after a spike to stop the clock Christian Hackenberg met with Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien about the next play. While everyone thought they would go a little conservative and not go for the homerun ball, they did the exact opposite. On a spot on throw and to his best wide receiver Allen Robinson, Hackenberg completed the biggest pass in his young career to get the Nittany Lions down to the 1 yard line. Now, Penn State was only a yard away from doing what seemed like would take a miracle, score on Michigan in the last minute of the game. The very next play, Hackenberg sealed the drive off with his first career rushing touchdown and the first rushing touchdown Michigan had allowed all year. There was only one problem, Michigan had 26 seconds to possibly win the game. Well, it looked as though Michigan was going to win as with just seconds left on the clock Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons set up for a 52 yarder. Gibbons whose career has had plenty of big time game winning field goals just needed one more to improve Michigan’s record to 6-0. But he missed the 52 yarder sending the game into overtime.
Overtime, both teams have one drive to either try to win the game, tie the game , or lose the game. Penn State got the ball first in the first overtime, all they had to do was drive a seemingly short 25 yards to score and take the lead. The first play of OT was a nice 7 yard run by Bill Belton, Penn State looked to be in business but then the drive went downhill, first with a sack of Hackenberg and then an incompletion it came down to Sam Ficken who has been almost perfect since the start of last season when he missed four field goals against Virginia. It was a 40 yarder, he made two earlier in the day all he had to do was make one more. He missed it, Michigan now had the chance to win the game. After three plays that Michigan gained a minimal two yards, Brendan Gibbons had one more opportunity to win the game for the Wolverines. It was a 40 yarder, the snap was good, the placement was good , the kick was BLOCKED! Penn State’s special teams bailed out the offense and Penn State lived to see another OT.
In the second overtime Michigan started with the ball and was able to drive all the way up to the Penn State eight before the PSU defense made a stand. Michigan was only able to get three points out of the drive leaving Penn State with the opportunity to win the game Penn State appeared to start the drive out the same way that started the previous on a nice five yard run by Bill Belton. Penn State would gain just a single yard after that and Sam Ficken was either going to send the game into a third overtime or send the fans home unhappy. The 36 yarder was good, Penn State lives to see at least one more overtime!
In the third overtime, Penn State had the opportunity start it off with a touchdown and leave Michigan in a do or die situation. In what seemed to be a great play call that would mess up the Michigan defense, Allen Robinson fumbled the ball on the first play of the drive in a handoff on a reverse and Michigan could now win the game with just a single field goal. Michigan then had some trouble of their own, starting off with two incompletions, Devin Gardner then cost the Wolverines valuable field positioning as he took a delay of game penalty moving Michigan back five yards. The next play Gardner tried to make up the penalty but only got seven yards on a run when he needed fifteen. But Gibbons was in easy range for a field goal, 33 yards no reason he should miss it unless a block. The snap was good, the placement was good, and the kick was going up, it had the distance but it was just to the left! Penn State has one more chance to win the game!
In the fourth and final overtime, Michigan started with the ball but Penn State’s defense would have none of it. Michigan would have to settle for another field goal opportunity this time another 40 yarder. Could Gibbons get out of his funk and give Michigan a 40-37 lead? Yes, he could as he easily put the kick down the middle leaving the game up to Christian Hackenberg. Bill Belton got three consecutive runs to open up the drive but Penn State needed one more yard, it was 4th and 1. They could go for the field goal or they could go for it on fourth down, in what may be the gutsiest call that he ever makes Bill O’Brien went for it on fourth down. It was another handoff to Belton and he found a hole gaining three yards and a first down. The next play Hackenberg rolled out and found Allen Robinson in the end zone but Robinson dropped an easy catch despite the cornerback and it was now second down. The very next play, Hackenberg once again found Robinson in the end-zone in triple coverage and showing extreme confidence threw a rocket right at Robinson who dropped it but there were flags on the play. After Jarrod Wilson was called for defensive pass interference, Penn State was one yard away from winning the game. Christian Hackenberg settled under the center with the backfield in an I formation. Hackenberg handed it off to Belton one last time as Belton took it into the endzone! Penn State had slayed the dragon, Penn State had won! They beat the 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines in one of the most memorable games in Penn State history and that is the day that the legend of Christian Hackenberg was born.
The Facts:
Now, you may be questioning yourself if Christian Hackenberg is in fact already a legend at Penn State or is he even a top college quarterback. Well, here is your chance to finally decide if he’s a top college quarterback.
Here are a few notable stats and facts about Christian so far.
- Out of ESPN’s Top 300 recruits last season Christian was the highest ranked quarterback ranked at #15.
- Elite 11 finalist. (Tied for 2nd)
- Only one of two Top 300 quarterback starting as a true freshman this season (Jared Goff, CAL)
- Out of the 66 players in Penn State history to throw at least one pass, Christian already ranks 18th with 1,672 yards
- Is one of only four Penn State quarterbacks with multiple games of 300+ yards.
- Has broken the Penn State freshman passing record twice
- Is on track to beat Penn State’s single season passing record of 3,003 yards held by Darryl Clark. (On track for 3,344 yards)
- Second true-freshman to be Penn State’s starting quarterback from the start of the season (Rob Bolden 2010)
- His 1,672 yards ranks 18th in college football in front of notable quarterbacks (Jameis Winston, A.J McCarron)
- Ranks 31st in passing TDs so far this season with 11
- Completing just under 60% percent of his passes at 58.4%
- Has upset a top #25 team as a true freshman (#18 Michigan)
- Leads the Big Ten in passing attempts,completions, and yards
- Second in Big Ten in passing efficiency rating (131.3)
- Has multiple TD passes in three of six games
Christian Hackenberg at the ripe age of 18 is doing some things high school quarterbacks and even some college quarterbacks can only dream of. But is he already a top college quarterback? While he may not be at the level of Johnny Manziel , Terry Bridgewater , Tajh Boyd , etc. He is no doubt a top 20 quarterback in the country this year if you look at what he has accomplished so far in his short career. The 14 accomplishments that I listed are pretty impressive accomplishments even for a non-freshman quarterback. So where would Christian Hackenberg rank in the Top 30 quarterbacks in Division 1 Football this season ? Let’s see.
The following rankings were not just based off stats, but the abilities they have shown, their confidence, and all intangibles. Your rankings may be different but this is an opinion piece so, feel free to discuss in the comments!
- Marcus Marriota – Oregon
- Teddy Bridgewater -Lousiville
- Johnny Mazniel – Texas A&M
- Tajh Boyd – Clemson
- Stephon Morris – Miami
- Jameis Winston – Florida State
- Braxton Miller – Ohio State
- AJ McCarron – Alabama
- Aaron Murray – Georgia
- Brett Hundley – UCLA
- Keith Price – Washington
- Kevin Hogan – Stanford
- David Fales – San Jose State
- Zech Mettenberger – LSU
- Derrek Carr – Fresno State
- Connor Shaw – South Carolina
- Jordan Lynch – Northern Illinois
- Taylor Kelly- Arizona State
- Logan Thomas – Virginia Tech
- Taylor Martinez – Nebraska
- Jared Goff – California
- Devin Gardner – Michigan
- Christain Hackenberg – PSU
- Bryce Petty – Baylor
- Brett Smith – Wyoming
- Baker Mayfield – Texas Tech
- Blake Bortles – UCF
- Chuckie Keeton – Utah State
- Cody Fajardo – Nevada
- Nate Sudfield – Indiana
So in the top 30 quarterback rankings, Christian Hackenberg comes in at #23. If you’re a top 25 quarterback you’re either pretty close to being a top quarterback or you already are a top quarterback. Now, since this in fact an opinion piece I will finish this article off with if I believe Hackenberg is in fact a top quarterback or if not. But please feel free to comment on here, or reply to me on twitter @dylancc_philly with if you believe Hackenberg is a top quarterback or not.
The Final Say:
Christian Hackenberg through the first half of his true-freshman season at Penn State has put up already impressive numbers which most rank in the top 10 of the Big Ten as well as the top 50 and 100 in college football. Now, when you look at some stats like interceptions and passing efficiency you have to remember that, Hackenberg is only an 18 year old playing in front of almost 100,000 people weekly but that can’t be the biggest excuse either. Christian throughout his first 360 minutes of college football play Christian Hackenberg has showed enough to me that he in fact is already a top college quarterback. Now, you may disagree or you may agree. Some of you may say “you’re crazy” or “this is why 16 year olds shouldn’t be sports writers” well that’s your opinion and I respect that. But if you look at just not his stats but his superb confidence that he has shown in his arm, physical and mental readiness you can see that this kid is on a mission to bring Penn State football back into the National spotlight on the field not off it. Another factor that has played into my decision is that Bill O’Brien as well has showed supreme confidence in the 18 year old throughout the first six games of the season. So, the final say is yes, Christian Hackenberg is already a top college quarterback (top 25 of college quarterbacks). Do you agree or disagree?
[Featured Image: Matthew O’Haren / USA TODAY Sports]
Dylan Callaghan-Croley currently covers college football and basketball as well as Fantasy Football for TotalSportsLive, he also covers the Eagles for TheGreenPheed.com as well as the Phillies for Phielderschoice.com. He also covers the Philadelphia Flyers fo PHLSportsNation.com. Currently a junior in high school, he is looking forward to attending college for a business degree while possibly minoring in journalism.
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