Christian Hackenberg is going to have a lot to live up to this season, after being added to his second preseason award watch list for the upcoming year.

The sophomore quarterback has been named to the 33-player watchlist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award which, as you might have guessed, goes to the nation’s best quarterback. This comes after he was named to the watchlist for the Maxwell Award last week, which is presented to the nation’s college football player of the year.

Hackenberg is no stranger to awards. He previously won the 2013 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year award after completing 231 of 392 passes for 2,955 yards. He also threw for 20 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions, and ran for another four touchdowns in his debut season, not too shabby for a freshman. With Hackenberg averaging 246.25 passing yards per game last year, he was able to step right in to fill the void left by the graduated Matt McGloin.

If Hackenberg wins the award, he will be among two other Penn State greats. Todd Blackledge and Kerry Collins previously won in 1982 and 1994, respectively, but Penn State quarterbacks have been shut out since.

About the Author

Ted Hozza

Ted is a senior majoring in Community, the Environment, and Development, or as his friends here at Onward State like to call it, Architecture. You can probably find him at the Phyrst late at night with other Onward Staters if he's not somewhere else editing articles. You can follow him on Twitter @TedHozza or email him at ted@onwardstate.com.

How Centre County Voted In The 2026 Midterm Elections

Centre County saw a 55.32% voter turnout rate in the general election.

Man Accused of Stealing Vehicle From State College Hotel & Driving Drunk

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 12.

‘Blood In The Water’: Penn State Football Cornerback Audavion Collins & Secondary Elevating Surrounding Units

“He does a good job of making everyone else around him better because he’s the hardest-working guy on the field at all times.”