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Missing their offensive coordinators isn’t the only thing Greyson Lambert and Christian Hackenberg have in common. How they play in the TaxSlayer Bowl will go a long way toward quieting critics, or cementing their legacies.
The quarterbacks at Georgia and Penn State each entered this season with promise, but fell short of expectations.
Hackenberg, a one-time five-star recruit, holds career records for the Nittany Lions in five categories including completions (685), yardage (8,318) and touchdown passes (48). Yet this season, he was eighth in the Big Ten in passing yards per game (198.8) and 12th in completion percentage (53.3).
Former Penn State QB Todd Blackledge, now an analyst for ESPN, said Hackenberg’s fundamentals are inconsistent, but he has the skills to be an NFL quarterback. Blackledge explained that Hackenberg’s struggles could be attributed to coaching, offensive line protection, or not trusting his protection.
“I think he needs to be kind of retooled and re‑coached fundamentally,” Blackledge said. “People talk about his accuracy. Anybody that plays or coaches the position of quarterback knows accuracy has more to do with your feet than it does with your arm, and I think his footwork and his fundamentals and those kind of things, he’s regressed a little bit, I guess, in some of that. … I think the key thing for him is he needs to get back to the basics and get kind of retooled from a footwork and fundamentals standpoint to go along with the arm talent, the brain, and his toughness.”
Because of changes to the offensive coaching staff, there is one theory that Hackenberg should declare for the NFL Draft because there’s not much to gain by returning to school.
Lambert has had a season of extreme highs and lows. Thanks to a 24-for-25 passing outing against South Carolina, he owns the NCAA record for completion percentage. But Lambert was later pulled multiple times for backup Brice Ramsey and third-string Faton Bauta, who has since transferred. Ramsey, in fact, has impressed coaches during bowl practice to the point where he could see time under center against Penn State.
Lambert — or Ramsey — could get a jump start on a first impression for new coach Kirby Smart as highly touted recruit QB Jacob Eason enrolls this spring.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
