Christian Hackenberg is facing a dilemma between staying in college one more season or declaring for the NFL Draft, and neither option is much more appealing than the other.
A former five-star recruit of Bill O'Brien's, Hackenberg has immense arm talent and is the ideal size for an NFL pocket passer. But his up-and-down collegiate career is giving scouts and evaluators pause about whether he is actually ready for the NFL.
Whether he is ready or not, Penn State head football coach James Franklin indicated a decision has already been made.
"I think there is an argument to be made that our strength right now is at wide receiver and running back," he told reporters recently, according to StateCollege.com. "Our tight end position is growing, I think our offensive line position is growing and we have three quarterbacks that we're excited about. Being able to have those quarterbacks in a position to make plays and be able to spread the field and to be able to spread the ball... it's going to allow our offensive line to continue to grow and take some of that pressure off."
Either Franklin knows he is losing a quarterback from his depth chart, or he knows he is going to have an open competition for next spring. Considering Hackenberg has been the starter for three seasons, the latter is more likely.
Hackenberg has played on a Penn State rosters depleted of scholarships by NCAA sanctions, and has had to learn three different offensive systems in as many seasons with two different head coaches.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette learned Hackenberg is seeking an evaluation for the NFL Draft, which does not mean he is declaring, just that he is seriously considering it. He projects to be a mid-round selection at this point, but all it takes is for one team to believe in his potential, ahem, Houston Texans.
