The New York Jets don’t exactly have a rosy history with highly touted college quarterbacks. This season, both 2013 Jets second-round pick Geno Smith and 2018 first-round choice Sam Darnold find themselves in playoff positions….for other franchises.
At least both Smith and Darnold played NFL snaps for New York – 2016 second-round choice Christian Hackenberg never even saw the field. Why? The team quote had “no plan” for him.
“New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone, in terms of the market, the expectations, the way it was,” the 29-year-old said during a 2024 appearance on ‘The Ross Tucker Podcast.’
“You know, my rookie year, we ended up keeping four quarterbacks, so there was just not a lot of opportunity for me to develop and grow. No plan, kind of an up-and-down organization,” Hackenberg continued.
- Exclusive: Blake Corum shares insight into Los Angeles Rams turnaround after being proved right
- Dan Orlovsky has alarming Caleb Williams fear after Chicago Bears rookie season
The Leighton, Pennsylvania native declared for Penn State ahead of the 2013 NCAA season as a consensus five-star recruit and the second-ranked quarterback in the country.
He immediately showed promise, earning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award with 3,955 passing yards and a 20-10 touchdown-interception ratio. Unfortunately, this would serve as Hackenberg’s high-water mark.
His numbers cratered the next season, throwing 12 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. 2015 wasn’t much better as Hackenburg tumbled from a consensus first-rounder to the second round. The Jets took him anyway.
Christian Hackenberg looked like a rising star during his freshman year ar Penn State (
Image:
Getty Images)
Hackenberg never played a snap in New York – he was stuck behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, and Bryce Petty in 2016, and he lost a QB battle between an ancient Josh McCown and Petty the following year. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a conditional seventh-round pick, toiled on a handful of practice squads, and elected to quit football in 2020 to try and play baseball.
“You start thinking about: ‘Are you really happy, and is it really as fulfilling as it was?’” Hackenberg admitted. “It just got to the point where [football] wasn’t, and all the other BS that came with it wasn’t worth it.”
Hackenerg’s short-lived baseball career flamed out and he took a volunteer job as the quarterback coach at Winslow Township High School.
Former NFL sack leader released by Miami Dolphins, becomes available for playoff teams
NFL analyst delivers brutal Bill Belichick assessment to explain UNC hire
“I can still be successful,” he told NJ Media in 2021. “It’s not like that’s life or death. At the end of the day, say what you want, but I accomplished more than 99% of people in that sport. To the level that I wanted? Absolutely not. But now, move on. It’s a game.”
Hackenberg also took a part-time job at a cybersecurity services company to help pay the bills. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Tatum Coffee, a former Penn State Lacrosse player.
Leave a Reply