Penn State Football: Though Grim Now, the Future Holds Promise

After a spectacular and surprising 8-4 2012 season to kick-start head coach Bill O’Brien’s tenure at Penn State, the team’s 2013 campaign has been a rough and bumpy ride. But where there has been so much disappointment in the present, the Nittany Lion’s recent 31-24 upset victory over the 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers has given them hope for the future.

At the heart of that hope is Coach O’Brien and his biggest recruit, freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg.

The prized quarterback from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia concluded his first season behind center for Penn State with a breakout performance. He completed 21-of-30 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns in what was his most impressive outing of the year. Coming into Saturday’s game, the Badgers had surrendered just eight touchdowns and less than 200 yards per game through the air.

“It’s a group testament how far we progressed with me being as young as I was,” the freshman told the Patriot-News. “[My teammates] really helped me grow up this year.”

Indeed, they did. But it wasn’t just the handful of seniors who played their final game of college football on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI that lent their assistance. Hackenberg’s fellow freshmen have grown with him and some of that growth culminated in three of the quarterback’s four touchdown passes going to top tight end recruit Adam Breneman. Four-star wideout Geno Lewis (a sophomore) also had two.

#UpsetAlert. Penn State takes a 31-14 lead on this Hackenberg beauty. #PSUvsWIS –> http://t.co/KU7nEOcTaD

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 30, 2013

The sanctions posed by the NCAA on Penn State may be thought to be questionable by many, but it has helped to ignite a new and exciting time for the university’s football program. Driving the college’s rebuilding program is Coach O’Brien with a plethora of talented top recruits — specifically on offense — that the school had not had the benefit of during the final years of legendary coach Joe Paterno’s duration at the helm.

Now slowly, in one season, the young kids have apparently grown up into experienced athletes primed for success over the next two or three seasons — with or without Bowl eligibility — even when shorthanded by rescinded scholarships.

Hackenberg has the makeup to be an all-time great, both in college and at the pro level.  Breneman has the foundation to develop into one of those “former players” of O’Brien’s (like when he was with the New England Patriots with star tight end Rob Gronkowski). Lewis, though not as highly touted as the aforementioned two, has a lot of talent and became a favorite target of Hackenberg’s in the team’s final month of play with seven receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense’s growth spurt cannot be ignored. While the program’s defense been has been propped up by top-flight linebacking play for years, freshman LB Brandon Bell could prove to be an unforgettable talent in Penn State’s archives. He came on slowly — as expected — but consecutive six-tackle performances to close out the season have Bell primed for a key role in 2014. Defensive end Garrett Sickels and cornerback Jordan Smith should also be major contributors in due time.

The Patriot-News’ David Jones compared Hackenberg’s freshman season to that of a musician learning how to play an instrument. Months are spent simply memorizing which keys to bang and learning how they all blend together in hopes of overcoming the process’ challenges and breaking free from its drab repetitiveness.

The Wisconsin game was the point at which Penn State’s QB stopped banging keys and finally started making music.

With that in mind, Hackenberg’s blossoming talent — led by coach  O’Brien’s passion and expertise, teamed with a talented stable of athletes — could have Penn State performing inspiring symphonies inside Beaver Stadium in the very near future.

 

Louis Musto is a reporter and sports talk host for the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. All quotes were acquired first hand or via team press releases unless otherwise noted. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.