Christian Hackenberg (Palmyra, Va.) accounted for all four touchdowns and became the second in school history to surpass 7,000 career passing yards. Photo by: Michael Corsey @ Michael Corsey Photography

Christian Hackenberg | Junior | Quarterback

Q. Christian, I know you played a little bit of safety in high school. How hard is it to play that position maybe at that level? How hard would you imagine it would be at this level to play that position?
CH: I had fun with it in high school. It was something that was kind of a need-based thing. We got really banged up, and my coaches let me take some reps in practice. But looking at it now, seeing the types of things that our defense asks them to do at this level, it’s obviously a much bigger transition.

From a communication standpoint, it’s very similar to the quarterback position and the defense. They have to kind of get everything going, and there is a lot of responsibility that hangs on their shoulders. So seeing guys execute at a high level is something that I think is special. We have a few guys that are doing it really well right now for us.

Q. What have you seen from the wide receivers in terms of getting separation that may be different from what those guys were doing last year? Is there anything you can do to help them if they’re not getting the separation that they need?
A: I thought last week we did a great job of that, even more so than we had, I think, even this year. You can kind of see the development and just a lot more confidence in what they were doing and how they were doing it.

I think it’s just been something that they’ve been building on throughout the entire year, and even last year and through the off-season. It’s something that I think they’re working on. I think it’s huge for our team; it’s huge for our efficiency and what we need to do.

So just being able to put them in situations where they can be successful, I think, is the goal for us as a unit and what we’re trying to do. I try to do my end of that and making sure I deliver them an accurate football and giving them a chance to make a play for us.

Q. I’m wondering at what point did you realize Brandon Polk was super fast? That he could be a guy? Did you notice it right away or how long did it take?
CH: Yeah, I think the first time he runs, and he’s one of the faster guys on the team, you think the kid’s got some wheels. And then you see it when he puts the pads on, it’s when you really get the true sense of that because there are some guys that are really fast without pads on, and then when you put the pads on, they slow down. I think he’s one of those guys that maintains that speed.

He’s done a good job, and I think we’ve done a good job of giving him opportunities to be successful in terms of getting him in space and letting him use that to his advantage.

Q. Army is allowing like 261 yards a game passing. You guys were able to stretch the field last week. What are you seeing on tape that may allow you to stretch the field again this week against Army?
CH: I think they’re doing what they need to do to fix that. They get paid to do that on their coaching staff. So we’re expecting them to come in with a great game plan. We need to do what we need to do to be successful, and make sure we’re executing our plays at a high level, and let the talent take over and see which guys can make plays, whether it be Army or us.

I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us. We’re excited about it. I think it’s something we can build on throughout the year and make sure our execution and our focus is built on something we have control over.

Q. As a guy that went to a military high school, what appreciation do you have for military appreciation day?
CH: I have a huge appreciation for it. Going to Fork Union and meeting some people there that have served on various different things and different branches of the military, you gain a lot of respect for the things that they’ve done and the sacrifices they’ve made.

My uncle actually played at West Point, ’95. He played D-tackle at West Point and he served for 12 years after that. So I have a ton of respect for that program specifically and the things that are asked of those guys following their playing years there. So it’s something that means a lot to me and my family. We have the utmost respect for everything and all the sacrifices that the military and their families have made.

Q. Were you ever recruited by any of the academies? Was there ever something in your future?
CH: I talked to West Point for baseball my freshman year, but other than that, it was something that I really had never looked at.

Q. I was wondering what [wide receiver Saeed] Blacknall has brought to the passing game? It seems you have some deep chemistry with him. He made the big catch against Ohio State last year, and how he played Saturday?
CH: I think the more consistency he gets and the more confident he gets, the more plays he’s going to make. Just being able to feed him the football and give him those opportunities and let him go up and make plays I think just helps him and helps our team and helps that receiving room take some pressure off some other guys.

So I think getting him rolling I think is going to spread the load out even more in that room and allow a lot of different guys to touch the football and make plays for us.

Q. [Quarterback Aaron] Rodgers tore it up last night in the rain at Lambeau. It’s probably going to rain a lot on Saturday as well. I know you said last week that you guys do wet ball work on Thursday. But what are some of the secrets and tricks if you want to give any away for throwing the ball when it’s wet?
CH: I think it’s just the mental approach. Making sure you go out and try to do the same thing as if it was a dry game. You can’t let it affect you. Usually when you start thinking about it is when it goes south.

You just try to approach it each day like it’s the greatest day, and being able to go out and execute. That’s part of the job. That’s part of my job.

Q. I asked Coach Franklin about this, but I’d like to hear from your perspective too. When Brandon Polk is on the field, obviously, it’s almost like a 50-50. Defenses seem to be sucked in as a decoy. What do you see from defenses when he’s on the field when you motion him across in like jet sweeps and so on and so forth?
CH: Yeah, I think that’s something we obviously look at on film in terms of what we want to do with that and how big of a role that wants to be in our game plan. Obviously it varies throughout the game. They make adjustments to that and however they do that, we usually try to make our adjustments accordingly.

So I think it’s a different element, obviously. It’s something that obviously we like to take advantage of. It’s a changeup for our offense. We’ve been getting a lot of explosive plays out of that, and it’s been good for us.

Q. You’ve had a lot of young guys step up on offense this year. On the team as a whole, John Reid, [Brandon] Polk, Saquon [Barkley], have you been impressed by how quickly these freshmen have come along? Is there a moment when you kind of thought this freshman and sophomore class was pretty strong?
CH: I think they’ve done what they needed to do individually to make sure they’ve prepared themselves to be able to play. They’ve also done what they needed to do for our football team and how they’ve sacrificed and how they’ve prepared and how they’ve caught on to things and picked things up to be able to be put in a situation to play.

They’ve earned their jobs. Nothing is given to them. It’s awesome to see those guys take that initiative and that type of focus and mentality and how much they care about it. It obviously creates competition, and competition brings the best out in each and every one of us.

So I think that’s huge for our football team. They’ve done a great job of making plays for us, and they’re going to continue to do so.

Q. What kind of baseball player were you then? You were pretty good, right, from what I recall?
CH: Yeah, I was pretty good. I’m a football player now.

Q. You played your senior year if I’m correct, right?
CH: Yeah, I played varsity all four years.

Q. Okay, and it was football from there on out though?
CH: Yeah, I thought about it, but football is my first love. It’s kind of the direction that I chose to go.

Q. I noticed in the cumulative stats that Penn State has been outscored 24-3 in third quarters this season. Is there something that’s been extra tricky about those? Has there been some personnel loss in the first half that’s affected that throughout the course of these games?
CH: Yeah, I think that’s something we need to work on. I don’t think we can really put a finger on exactly what it is. It’s just we need to come out and make sure we’re a little more focused coming out of halftime. Offensively I thought we had a great opportunity to put some points on the board on the first drive last week and we weren’t able to do so, and we kind of hit a rut there.

I think our defense did a great job of pulling us out of that with Austin Johnson making that huge play. So I think it’s just something that we’re going to continue to work on and get better at.

You’re always trying to find things to get better at and make it that you play that perfect, complete game, and that’s always what every team is striving for. That is one of the aspects that as a unit and as a team we’re going to continue to work on.