? Career Notes & Records
Started all 38 career games under center...Finished his career as Penn State leader in career 300-yard passing games (9), 200-yard passing games (21), passing yards (8,457), attempts (1,235), completions (693), passing touchdowns (48) and total offense (8,215)... Is the only player in program history to have three 2,000-yard passing seasons...Is the only 8,000-yard passer in Penn State history...One of just eight Penn State quarterbacks to top the 5,000-yard mark, one of three to surpass the 6,000 career passing yards and joins Zack Mills as the only 7,000-yard passers in PSU history...On the season passing yardage list, ranks No. 3 (2,977 - 2014), No. 4 (2,955 - 2013) and No. 8 (2,525 - 2015)...Sits No. 1 (484 - 2014), No. 4 (392 - 2013) and No. 7 (353 - 2015) on the single season attempts charts...Ranks tied for No. 1 (270 - 2014), No. 5 (231 - 2013) and No. 8 (192 - 2015) on the season completions charts...On the season passing touchdowns list ranks No. 6 (20 - 2013)...His season total offense numbers rank No. 4 (2,887 - 2013), No. 5 (2,883 - 2014) and No. 8 (2,445 - 2015)...Owns the Penn State record for passing yards in a game (454; 2014), passing yards in consecutive games (773; 2014), pass attempts in a game (55; 2013), season completions (270; 2014 - tied with Matt McGloin) and pass attempts in a season (484; 2014)...As a freshman, broke one Penn State overall passing record and 12 school freshman passing records, including the rookie marks for game and season passing completions, attempts, yards and touchdown passes...Set Penn State bowl game records for passing yards (371), completions (34) and attempts (50), and tied the record for passing touchdowns and touchdowns accounted for in a bowl game with four.
? 2015 ? Junior Season
Awards: Among the preseason candidates for the Maxwell and O'Brien Awards. Season: Started 13 games...Ranked 57th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten with 16 touchdown passes...Ended the season 57th in the FBS and ninth in the Big Ten with 2,525 passing yards...Named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player.
at Temple (9/5): Completed 11-of-25 passes for 103 yards...Completed a game-long pass of 30 yards to Chris Godwin in the third quarter. Buffalo (9/12): Threw for 128 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-27 passing...Added four rushing yards on two attempts...Was not sacked in the game...Hit DaeSean Hamilton for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Rutgers (9/19): Completed 10-of-19 passes for 141 yards...Hooked up with DaeSean Hamilton on a 48-yard pass play in the second quarter...Connected with Chris Godwin for 30 yards in the first quarter...Also rushed twice for three yards. San Diego State (9/26): Completed 21-of-35 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns...Threw three touchdown passes...Connected with Mark Allen, Saquon Barkley and Chris Godwin on scoring passes...Registered 16th 200-yard passing game of his career with 296 yards...Completed passes to seven different teammates. Army (10/3): Threw for 156 yards on 10-of-19 passing in a steady rain...Connected with six different pass catchers...Threw for one touchdown -- a 33-yard completion to Mike Gesicki -- to close out the third quarter...Also rushed for 19 yards and a first down on third-and-long, which led to a Joey Julius 37-yard field goal. Indiana (10/10): Accounted for four touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) and 283 yards of total offense...Completed passes to eight different receivers...Threw for 262 yards to post his 17th career 200-yard passing game...Hooked up with DaeSean Hamilton and Brandon Polk on separate 39-yard touchdown passes...Rushed for a career-high 21 yards...Scored his first rushing touchdown, a 1-yard score in the second quarter, since the Nebraska game in 2013...Also added a 5-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to become the first Penn State quarterback with two rushing touchdowns in a game since Matt McGloin had two rushing scores in a 2012 win over Illinois...Had a career-long 22-yard run in the second quarter...Was the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week. at Ohio State (10/17): Completed 7-of-13 passes for 120 yards...Connected with Chris Godwin on a season-long 56-yard completion...Tossed his 40th career touchdown pass, an 8-yard pass to DaeSean Hamilton in the third quarter. vs. Maryland (10/24): Threw for a season-best 315 yards with three touchdowns to move into first on the career passing yardage, completions and attempts list...His 300-yard effort extended his own school record...Connected on nine passes of 20-plus yards, including all three touchdown passes...Found Chris Godwin (37-yards), DaeSean Hamilton (25-yards) and Geno Lewis (27-yards) for touchdown passes. Illinois (10/31): Completed 21-of-29 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns...Broke a tie with Matt McGloin (2009-12) for the top spot on the 200-yard passing games list with his 19th career 200-plus yard passing game...Connected with Chris Godwin and Geno Lewis for scoring strikes...Caught his first career pass, a 14 yard catch-and-run for a touchdown...His catch was the first by a Nittany Lion quarterback since 2011 (Matt McGloin from Curtis Drake; Nebraska)...It was the first TD reception by a Penn State quarterback 2004 (Zack Mills from Michael Robinson; Akron)...Became the first Big Ten quarterback since 2010 (Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State) with multiple touchdown passes and a touchdown reception in the same game...Was the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week. at Northwestern (11/7): Threw for 205 yards by completing 21-of-40 passes with one interception...Extended his own school record with his 20th career 200-yard passing game. Michigan (11/21): Completed 13 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown...Ran for 17 yards to convert a third-and-14 on a drive that ended in a Tyler Davis 18-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. at Michigan State (11/28): Posted his school-record extending 21st career 200-yard passing game...Threw two touchdown passes to move his name atop the career passing touchdowns list, breaking a tie with Matt McGloin (46, 2009-12)...Completed 22-of-39 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. vs. Georgia (1/2): Played only five series before leaving the game due to injury early in the second quarter...Completed 8-of-14 passes for 139 yards and one interception...Rushed once for four yards...His final completion was a 51-yard pass to Chris Godwin, which set up Penn State's first score of the game.
? 2014 ? Sophomore Season
Awards: Among the preseason candidates for the Maxwell and O'Brien Awards...Named the Most Valuable Player of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl after leading the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 overtime victory at Yankee Stadium...Was named to the BTN.com and ESPN.com All-Bowl Teams. Season: Elected a co-captain before the season, becoming the second-youngest player elected a Penn State captain in the program's 128 years...Started under center in all 13 games and has started every game of his Penn State career (25 games)...Led the Big Ten and ranked 23rd nationally in completions (270, 20.8 avg.), was third in the conference in passing yards (229.0 ypg) and fourth in the Big Ten in total offense (221.8 ypg)...Was 270-of-484 for 2,977 yards with 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on the season...Set or tied nine Penn State bowl records on his way to New Era Pinstripe Bowl MVP honors...Over the first three games of the season, amassed 1,082 passing yards, which were the most by a Big Ten player since at least 1996...His four consecutive 300-yard passing games dating to 2013 was the longest streak in the Big Ten since Northwestern's Brett Basanez had five straight games in 2005...On the season charts, Hackenberg's four 300-yard passing games, 484 attempts and 270 completions rank first in Penn State history...His 2,955 yards passing rank fourth, 2,883 yards of total offense rank fifth and six 200-yard passing games rank eighth.
UCF (8/30): Opened the season with a school-record performance in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland, as he threw for a Penn State-best 454 yards, breaking Zack Mills' record of 399 yards against Iowa in 2002...Completed a then-career-high 32 passes on 47 attempts in the win and was selected Big Ten Player of the Week by Athlon Sports and earned an ESPN.com Big Ten Helmet Sticker...Named the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week after posting his fifth career 300-yard and 10th career 200-yard passing game...Broke the Penn State total offense record with 456 yards, passing the 418 yards by Mills against Ohio State in 2001...After UCF took its first lead of the game at 24-23 with 1:13 to play, Hackenberg connected on four-of-six passes for 47 yards on the game-ending eight-play, 55-yard drive that led to Sam Ficken's game-winning 36-yard field goal as time expired...His 79-yard touchdown completion to Geno Lewis is his longest career completion and tied for ninth-longest in school history. Akron (9/6): Followed stellar performance in Ireland with 319 yards passing (22-of-36) and three touchdowns in the win...It was the sixth 300-yard game of his career and marked the second time that he threw for more than 300 yards in consecutive games (2013, at Indiana, vs. Michigan)...Broke the school record for passing yards in consecutive games with 773 yards in the first two games (454 vs. UCF, 319 vs. Akron), topping Mills' 686 yards (399 vs. Iowa, 287 at Wisconsin) in 2002. at Rutgers (9/13): Led the charge in a 13-10 come-from-behind win with 309 yards on 25-of-44 passing...Marked his fourth consecutive 300-yard effort and earned him the coaching staff's Co-Offensive Player of the Week honor...Directed a six-play, 80-yard game-winning drive in 1:49 late in the game...Completed passes of 53 and 23 yards to Lewis to set up Bill Belton's game-winning touchdown run with 1:13 to play...Delivered his seventh career 300-yard passing game against the Scarlet Knights, breaking a tie with Matt McGloin for the school record. UMass (9/20): Threw for 179 yards in the 48-7 win, leaving the game after the first series of the third quarter. Northwestern (9/27): Tallied 216 yards passing...The effort included a long pass of 51 yards to DaeSean Hamilton and helped him to his 13th career 200-yard passing game. at Michigan (10/11): Completed 21-of-32 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Ohio State (10/25): Went 31-of-49 for 224 yards and one touchdown in the double-overtime contest...Led Penn State's rally from a 10-point deficit in the second half and engineered three scoring drives between the fourth quarter and overtime in the loss. Maryland (11/1): Completed 18 passes for 177 yards and one touchdown...The 8-yard TD pass to Jesse James was the 27th of his career and moved him into the Top 10 on the Penn State career list. at Indiana (11/8): Became just the eighth Penn State signal caller to eclipse the 5,000-yard passing mark in a 13-7 victory with 168 yards passing...Completed passes of at least 23 yards to four receivers. Temple (11/15): Connected on 12 passes for 112 yards in the 30-13 win, completing passes to six receivers...Led five scoring drives to help the Nittany Lions become bowl eligible. at Illinois (11/22): Threw an 18-yard scoring strike to Chris Godwin in the first quarter to move into a tie for ninth on Penn State's career touchdown pass list. Michigan State (11/29): Finished the regular-season with a 21-of-45 effort and 195 yards. Boston College (12/27): Completed 34-of-50 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to earn MVP honors...It was his 15th career 200-yard passing game and eighth career 300-yard passing game, extending his Penn State record...Set Penn State bowl game records for passing yards, completions and attempts, and tied the record for passing touchdowns and touchdowns accounted for in a bowl game with four...His 72-yard scoring strike to Godwin in the first quarter is tied for the longest completion and longest touchdown pass in Penn State bowl history...Trailing 21-7 late in the third quarter, hit Lewis for a 7-yard score before he found Hamilton for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter...Trailing 24-21 with 2:05 left in the game, drove the Penn State offense to the Boston College 27-yard line, which set up Ficken's game-tying 45-yard field goal... Connected with Kyle Carter in overtime for a 10-yard touchdown pass that set up Ficken's game-winning extra point.
? 2013 ? True Freshman Season
Awards: Selected the 2013 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year...Broke one Penn State overall passing record and 12 school freshman passing records, including the rookie marks for game and season passing completions, attempts, yards and touchdown passes...Garnered first-team True Freshman All-America accolades from 247Sports.com...Selected a second-team Freshman All-American by Athlon Sports, Phil Steele's College Football and CollegeFootballNews.com, with Heisman Trophy-winner Jameis Winston claiming the first-team nod...Earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times during the season, the second-highest total since the honor began in 2010...Named the Athlon Sports National Freshman of the Week twice, following the wins over Michigan and at Wisconsin. Season: Enrolled in the University in late June and the true freshman produced one of the most impressive seasons of any Nittany Lion signal caller during the program's 127-year history...For the season, finished 231-of-392 for 2,955 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions...Had a long completion of 68 yards to Adam Breneman for a touchdown in the big win at No. 14 Wisconsin...Ran for four touchdowns and accumulated 2,887 yards of total offense, an average of 240.6 ypg...Finished third overall on the Penn State season passing yardage chart (2,955) and fourth on the season completions list (231)...Compiled four 300-yard passing games to tie Matt McGloin for the school season record...Completed 14 passes of 40 yards or longer, which was tied for the most by a freshman and eighth overall nationally (with Winston)...Ranked second in the Big Ten in completions (231), third in passing yards (246.2 ypg), fourth in total offense (240.6) and seventh in touchdown passes (20).
Syracuse (8/31): Garnered the first of his five Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades after completing 22-of-31 passes for 278 yards with two touchdowns in the season-opening win at MetLife Stadium...Threw two 50-yard-plus touchdowns, including his first career touchdown pass to Allen Robinson (51 yards) in the third quarter...Fired a 54-yard scoring strike to Lewis in the fourth quarter in the 23-17 win over the Orange. Eastern Michigan (9/7): Threw for 311 yards in the win to break Zack Mills' Penn State freshman game passing yardage record (280; vs. both Ohio State and Southern Mississippi in 2001)...Went 23-of-33, with one touchdown and one interception, tossing a 45-yard scoring strike to Robinson. UCF (9/14): Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time after completing 21-of-28 passes for 262 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions...Threw a 46-yard pass to Robinson in the third quarter that set up the Lions' second touchdown of the game...Tossed a 5-yard TD pass to Robinson and they also connected on a 44-yard completion. Kent State (9/21): Finished 13-of-35 for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a rain-soaked win...Connected with Bill Belton on a 15-yard touchdown pass and had completions of 29 yards (Carter) and 27 yards (Breneman) against the Golden Flashes. at Indiana (10/5): Broke the school freshman record with 30 completions in the Big Ten-opener, also eclipsing the school record with 55 pass attempts...Also broke Kerry Collins' pass attempts record of 54, set in 1992 at BYU...His 30 completions ranked third overall at Penn State and he broke his own school freshman record with a season-high 340 yards, tossing three touchdowns against the Hoosiers, including a 46-yarder to Robinson...His 300-plus yard effort made him just the fourth player in school history to accumulate multiple 300-yard passing games. Michigan (10/12): Delivered a stellar performance in the prime time battle with unbeaten Michigan, leading Penn State to one of its most dramatic victories in program history...Trailing 34-27, led the team on a game-tying, 80-yard scoring drive with 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter and no timeouts...Completed a 14-yard pass to Robinson, followed by a 29-yard strike to Brandon Felder and a 36-yard leaping grab by Robinson at the Michigan 1-yard line, sending the Homecoming crowd of 107,884 into hysterics...Drove into the end zone for his first career rushing score, tying the game at 34-34, needing only 23 seconds and four plays to get Penn State into the end zone and overtime in the eventual 43-40 four-overtime thriller...Posted his third 300-yard passing game with 305 yards on 23-of-44 passing and had three TD passes in the win...Named the Athlon Sports National Freshman of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time...Won the Capital One Cup Performance of the Week...Connected with Felder on scoring strikes of 12 and 24 yards and hit Jesse James on a 20-yard scoring grab for a 21-10 halftime lead...His 1-yard touchdown run was the first rushing TD allowed by Michigan during the season. at Ohio State (10/26): Went 12-of-23 with one touchdown and two interceptions...Connected with Felder on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter for the Lions' first touchdown of the game...Left the game in the third quarter with a slight shoulder injury. Illinois (11/2): Completed 20-of-32 passes with a touchdown pass in the overtime win to earn Athlon Sports Big Ten Freshman of the Week...Threw a 47-yard strike to Robinson in the first quarter, and connected with Carter on the game-winning, 15-yard touchdown pass in overtime... Had a 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and broke the school freshman record with his sixth 200-yard passing game. at Minnesota (11/9): Completed 14-of-25 passes for 163 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, on a day that saw winds gusting to 30 mph...Connected with Belton on a 30-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Purdue (11/16): Finished 16-of-23, with one TD and one interception, in the 45-21 win to attain Athlon Sports Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for a fourth time...Capped the scoring against Purdue with a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter...Connected with Breneman on an 8-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and had a 58-yard completion to James. Nebraska (11/23): Finished 16-of-33, including two completions of 40-plus yards, with two touchdowns and one interception...Found Breneman on a 2-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and James on a 46-yard TD strike in the fourth quarter...Completed a 43-yard pass to Robinson...Delivered a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for a 13-7 lead en route to receiving his fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. at Wisconsin (11/30): Gained Big Ten Freshman of the Week for a fifth time and Athlon Sports National Freshman of the Week for a second time after going 21-of-30 for 339 yards, with a season-high four touchdown passes and no interceptions in a huge 31-24 victory ...Found Breneman on a 68-yard scoring strike on the fourth play of the game, the Lions' longest play from scrimmage, and the longest play allowed by Wisconsin all season...Connected with Lewis on 3-yard and 59-yard touchdown passes, with the second one coming early in the fourth quarter for a 31-14 lead...Found James on a beautiful 7-yard scoring toss in the third quarter to give Penn State the lead for good.
? High School
An Under Armour All-American, rated as the top pocket passing quarterback in the nation during his senior season at Fork Union Military Academy...Played for head coach Mickey Sullivan...Led the Blue Devils to the 2010 VISAA Division I State Championship as a sophomore and a state runner-up finish as a senior in 2012...VISAA Division I first-team all-state performer as a senior...Was invited to The Opening, an all-star summer prospect camp held on the Nike campus...Was a 2012 Elite 11 Finalist...Threw for 5,473 yards, tossing 55 touchdowns and completing more than 50 percent of his passes, playing three years at Fork Union...As a senior, threw for 2,144 yards and 24 touchdowns, while also rushing for 436 yards and three scores...Tallied 2,164 yards passing and 171 completions during his junior season with 20 touchdown passes...Threw for 1,165 yards and 11 scores as a sophomore...Rated as a five-star recruit by Scout.com and Rivals.com and a four-star recruit by ESPN.com...Also played basketball and baseball at Fork Union.
? Personal
Full name is Christian Blaize Hackenberg...Son of Erick and Nicole Hackenberg...Has three younger brothers, Brandon, Adam and Drue...Father played football at Virginia and Susquehanna University and played in the Big 33 Classic...Mother was an All-Patriot League volleyball player at Lehigh...Both parents were inducted into the Marian High School Hall of Fame in Tamaqua, Pa....Enjoys hunting and fishing...Enrolled in the College of Communications...Born February 14, 1995 in Lehighton, Pa.