Jon Gruden is only nine days away from taking a figurative (or maybe literal) whiz on an electric fence.
In an item posted earlier today on ESPN.com’s premium Insider service, the former Buccaneers and Raiders coach says this about Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg: “I’ll be shocked if Hackenberg is not a first-round pick. The biggest surprise to me on Hackenberg is that no one is really talking about him in the first round. This was the No. 1 prospect in the nation a few years ago and someone who showed during his freshman year he could produce at a high level in a true NFL-style offense. What he showed during that first year at Penn State -- before the coaching change, before the system change, before all the things that derailed him -- would be enough for me to take this guy early. This man can run a 4.7-second 40, he is tough as hell and he works relentlessly. He just has to get in the right system with the right people and refocus on the small details.”
Gruden specifically praised Hackenberg for his ability to pick up former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien’s offense as a freshman.
“Hackenberg threw for 3,000 yards as an 18-year-old kid in an NFL offense that is hard to execute,” Gruden writes. “I do not think people are giving him enough credit for that. The alert signals they had when Bill O’Brien was coaching him were straight out of the New England Patriots playbook. You might see 12-15 alerts per game. The quarterback’s control at the line of scrimmage was similar to the Patriots’. We all have seen Tom Brady point to his temples countless times at the line of scrimmage. They had the same alerts and mannerisms at Penn State. For a freshman to be given that type of autonomy at the line of scrimmage is unusual. When you see the same plays from the same formations that the Patriots are running, with the same audible mannerisms, you are like, ‘Wow, this is cool.’”
It’s not cool that the rest of Gruden’s takeaways on Hackenberg are hidden behind a paywall, but the first two are strong enough to get plenty of attention at a time when few are talking about Hackenberg as a top quarterback prospect.
The naysayers include ESPN’s top two draft experts. In December, Mel Kiper said that Hackenberg should consider returning to school for another season. Todd McShay said this about Hackenberg: “With a 53.3 percent completion rate this season, he’s simply not accurate enough to warrant first-round consideration.”
Coincidentally or not, Gruden’s remarks are coming to light the same day that his brother’s team is hosting Hackenberg. It’s fairly clear what Washington’s pick would be if the elder Gruden were the team’s head coach.
If nothing else, it should make for an interesting discussion between Gruden and Kiper on the ESPN set as Hackenberg slides toward Washington’s selection, and likely beyond.
