Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State's Hackenberg tops McShay's mock draft in 2016

Published May. 8, 2015 1:00 p.m. ET

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By Michael Dusak

Penn State hasn’t had a first overall draft pick since way back in 2000, but that could change in 2016 according to one draft pundit.

ESPN’s Todd McShay has slotted Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg atop his first “Way-too-early” mock draft for 2016. And while April of next year is too far away, Hackenberg going No. 1 would be the first Nittany Lion to do so since Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington were made the first two selections in 2000.

While mocking out a first round of a draft not even two weeks after the 2015 draft ended is mostly just fun and games, Penn State’s junior signal caller will surely remain as a first round projection, even if he doesn’t end up being the top pick.

It’s been well documented that Hackenberg doesn’t have the gaudiest statistics among quarterbacks, but he’s every bit of six-foot-four, 240 pounds and has one of the strongest arms in the country. He played a year in Bill O’Brien’s pro-style offense and excelled to the tune of nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

His sophomore year did not go as well, as he threw for the same relative yardage, but with 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Many will point to the porous offensive line play; he was sacked twice as many times (44) last season as his freshman year (21) and a lack of support from a ground attack (PSU finished 120th in rushing yards) as two prime reasons for the step back in 2015.

But even as Hackenberg was running for his life in 2014 (and he was), he still showed flashes of his potential going forward. When he was given time to throw, he showed the ability to make nearly every throw down the field, and outside the numbers; which are some of the toughest throws for college QB’s to make. Yes, he needs to make better reads and cut down on the interceptions, but he also led three fourth-quarter comeback wins against UCF, Rutgers and Boston College.

The Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, in which Hackenberg led Penn State from a 14-point deficit, was his most impressive game of the season –and possibly his short career. He was 34 of 50 for 371 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Penn State was nine for 17 on third down conversions, something that had been a major struggle both earlier in the season and dating back to last season.

The hope is that the bowl game will serve as momentum for the quarterback –and the team- heading into 2015. There is also hope from Penn State fans, Hackenberg’s camp and the coaching staff alike that the offensive line will improve and better protect the QB this season. It didn’t look much better in the spring game, but given more time over the summer the unit should be more cohesive come the fall.

If the offensive line can hold its own, Hackenberg has a plethora of targets to feed the ball to. There’s DaeSean Hamilton, Geno Lewis and Saeed Blacknall outside. There’s a hopefully healthy Adam Breneman returning at tight end along with Kyle Carter and promising sophomore Mike Gesicki. All those weapons should allow Hackenberg every opportunity to prove he’s worthy of being the top quarterback taken if he decides to enter the 2016 NFL Draft, but there’s plenty of work to do before we get to that point.

Highlights from 2013

Highlights from 2014

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