Freshman Quarterback At Penn State Is Already Making A Name For Himself
This past weekend, he led his team to beat #16 ranked Michigan over the weekend in a 43-40 four overtime thriller.
Hackenberg led the Nittany Lions on a fourth quarter comeback against undefeated Michigan after Penn State was down by 10. With less than a minute to go, Hackenberg and Penn State got one final shot.
The first year starter completed 3 of 4 passes, including a miraculous throw and catch by wide receiver Allen Robinson to bring Penn State to Michigan's one yard-line. Hackenberg followed it up by scoring his first rushing touchdown of the season to tie the game with only 27 seconds left.
Penn State would go on to outlast the Wolverines in four overtimes to emerge as the victors.
Despite losing previous starter in Matt McGloin to the NFL Penn State hasn't lost a beat under second year coach Bill O'Brien. The 18-year-old Hackenberg has replaced the 23-year-old McGloin and executed O'Brien's spread offense perfectly.
Through six games, Hackenberg has passed for 1,672 yards (279 yards per game), 11 touchdowns to six interceptions. He is the only QB in the Big Ten to have multiple 300 yard passing games with at least three touchdowns. The rest of the conference quarterbacks combined have two.
Here's what O'Obrien had to say about him after the Michigan game:
"I'm never surprised with Christian Hackenberg. I've known him for awhile now, I recruited him, and I was very fortunate to have him come to Penn State. He's a really great kid, he's 18-years-old, it's remarkable what he's been able to do at this point in the season...Nothing he does really surprises me."