Franklin: Hackenberg needs to be smart on scrambles

Penn State coach James Franklin likes to see quarterback Christian Hackenberg use his feet to pick up a few yards when a pass play breaks down. Hackenberg doesn't mind running, and tries to get as many yards as he can.

There are times, however, when Hackenberg puts his body at risk trying to make an extra yard or two, and that's when Franklin doesn't like it.

"I love it and I hate it," Franklin said. "I love it from a competitive standpoint. That's kind of who I want us to be. But that doesn't make a whole lot of sense for us right now and that's not smart. He's got to be calculating.

"If it's third and 3 and he needs it to keep the drive alive or win the game, or it's fourth down, then you've got to do what you've got to do. In those other situations, get as much as you can and get down . . . or get out of bounds."

That's a good idea for Penn State. Hackenberg is the team's most valuable player and a major reason the Nittany Lions are 4-0 heading into Saturday's Big Ten Conference home game with Northwestern. But the 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore also is a competitor, calling his rushing efforts for extra yards "playing football."

"I'm trying to help my team in any way that I can," Hackenberg said Wednesday. "So if that requires me to put my shoulder down and get us a couple of extra yards to make sure that we can keep a drive moving, then that's what I'm going to do. If I'm able to step out of bounds, that's something I'm going to do as well. I think it varies from situation to situation."

The Lions have no experienced depth at quarterback. If Hackenberg is injured, his backups are freshmen Trace McSorley and Michael O'Connor, neither of whom has played in a collegiate game, and sophomore D.J. Crook, who mopped up last week in the win over Massachusetts.

Hackenberg said he is more comfortable running this season. Throwing out 10 sacks for 52 yards in losses, he has rushed 14 times for 81 yards.

"When it's third and 3 and you get 6, rather than take the hit, just get down, you've got the first down," Hackenberg said. "But when it's fourth and 5 and you get contact at 4, you've got to put the shoulder down and finish the run, get the extra 2."

The Penn State rushing game came alive for 228 yards last week, allowing Hackenberg to not have to pass - or scramble - too much. After putting up 47, 36, and 44 passes in the Lions' first three games, he threw only 23 times.

"It's another dimension that's going to open up a lot of things for us offensively," he said.

And if Franklin or Hackenberg's teammates have anything to say about it, the quarterback will be smart when he runs.

"About him hitting people, that's on him," running back Zach Zwinak said. "But personally, whatever he does, don't get hurt."

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