Of course I love hearing this stuff, but he was still sub 60% completion his freshman year.
As someone who doesn't follow CFB, is that the norm for a freshman and everyone just expected it to go UP instead of DOWN his next two years? Otherwise it would seem accuracy was an issue from day one . . .
well it is pretty rare for a true freshman to play, so saying sub 60% completion as a kid just out of high school isn't impressive doesn't factor in how rare it is to play that early in college, especially at a major program (granted penn st was in the midst of the sandusky scandal at the time)
interesting article in today's
WSJ NY section
In his last two years at Penn State, quarterback Christian Hackenberg completed less than 55% of his passes and often held on to the ball too long, getting sacked 103 times in his college career.
But despite the numbers, the Jets could potentially be getting a steal with their second-round pick.
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan pointed to Hackenberg’s fantastic 2013 season as a true freshman when he completed 58.9% of his passes with twice as many touchdowns (20) as interceptions (10). “The last two seasons, was a little different than the first season,” Maccagnan said. “You look at the parts and the pieces of the player.” Hackenberg played with quarterback guru Bill O’Brien, a former Patriots offensive coordinator, in his first season with the Nittany Lions, before O’Brien left to coach the Houston Texans.
Having success as a true freshman is very unusual even for the college quarterbacks who go on to become the best pros. Of the 28 draft picks who proceeded to make an NFL Pro Bowl since 2000, only nine threw at least 100 passes as true freshman, according to Sports-Reference.com. Hackenberg shines among this select group. The only quarterback who did better in this metric was Robert Griffin III, who played in a wide-open Baylor offense that makes for gaudy passing statistics. Hackenberg’s 134.0 freshman rating in 392 attempts easily tops Philip Rivers (126.1), Carson Palmer (122.8), Jay Cutler (112.4) and Matthew Stafford (109). Palmer and Stafford were both No. 1 overall picks, while Rivers was taken fourth and Cutler was selected with the 11th overall pick. The Jets took Hackenberg with the 51st pick on Friday.
Hackenberg is big (6-foot-4, 223 pounds) and fast (combine-best 4.78 40-yard dash for a quarterback), with a pro-ready arm. But his last two seasons put him on the developmental track. “It’s going to be an adjustment period to the NFL,” Maccagnan said.
(edit - the graphic from article doesn't show here, but there is a table comparing the 9 QBs who attempted more than 100 passes as a freshman. RGIII had a 59.9% completion % and 142 rating, hackenberg was 58.9% and 134, rivers was 53.7% and 126.1, carson palmer was 55.3% and 122.8, cutler was 48.6% and 112.4 and stafford was 52.7% and 109)
