By Jordan Hansen
Part 12 of The Daily Iowan’s summer Big Ten previews
For the first time in three seasons, Christian Hackenberg won’t be in the Penn State backfield.
Had he desired to, Hackenberg — a former five-star recruit — could have returned. He still had his senior year of eligibility remaining, but he opted to turn professional and was drafted in the second round.
As a quarterback, Hackenberg was criticized from just about everywhere as his statistical production took a downturn his sophomore and junior seasons. As Hackenberg went, so did the rest of the team.
Penn State went 7-6 each of the last two seasons, much to the ire of its fervent fans. With the way the school approaches football, it’s not entirely impossible that head coach James Franklin could be on the outs if things start to go poorly this season.
Hackenberg partially blamed Franklin for the team’s problems during the lead up to the NFL Draft, and while it could just be one disgruntled player, the idea it could be a sign of larger issues can’t be comforting.
In response to the shortcomings on the field, Franklin is also dealing with several assistant changes. Offensive coordinator John Donovan was fired after the regular season, while defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and offensive-line coach Herb Hand took jobs at different schools.
If the new pieces Franklin has brought in don’t work, there could be trouble. New offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead ran an up-tempo system at Fordham, and it seems likely this is the direction the team is heading.
Whatever the offense, one of the first priorities has to be protecting the quarterback. Penn State allowed 39 sacks last season, the worst mark in the Big Ten and 113th in the NCAA.
The Nittany Lions return a good part of the offensive line, which should improve simply because it couldn’t get much worse. To be fair, sacks are rarely only the linemen’s fault and better scheming can alleviate many problems.
Of course, the player who will try to avoid sacks is pretty important, too. Trace McSorley and Tommy Stevens are the current front-runners for the position. McSorley backed up Hackenberg each of the past two seasons and has the most college experience.
Penn State should have a solid running game next year, which should make McSorley’s or Stevens’ life a bit easier. Sophomore Saquon Barkley is one of the better backs in the Big Ten, and he led Penn State with 1,076 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
Barkley also had 20 receptions and was a very real threat in the passing game. Moorhead’s spread attack should get the talented back into space more often, which could mean exciting things for the Nittany Lion passing attack.
From a pure numbers standpoint, Penn State lost far more on defense than it did offense. Only five starters from 2015 will return to the field, making life even more difficult for the coaching staff.
The biggest loss, of course, will be the loss of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Carl Nassib. A former walk-on, the 6-7 defensive end had the best year of his career and earned the Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award.
Nassib had an incredible 15.5 sacks and 19.5 total tackles for loss. He also forced 6 fumbles and generally was a giant whirlwind of destruction on opposing offensive lines.
Replacing those types of players is never easy, and it will be interesting to see how Franklin’s defense establishes itself. After all, playing good defense is a prerequisite for the Big Ten, and many teams pride themselves on it.
Penn State is one of those teams, and finding it early could do wonders for the amount of heat on Franklin’s seat.