Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg hauls in receiving touchdown (Video)

Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg pulled in the receiving touchdown

The Penn State Nittany Lions have a legitimate professional prospect in quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Some have praised him as a potential option for the No. 1 overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft.

It may not have helped his draft stock any, but Hackenberg showed just how special a player he is by pulling in his first career receiving touchdown on Saturday against Illinois.

A little creativity is exactly what Penn State’s offense has needed in 2015.

In terms of his individual statistics, Hackenberg has failed to wow his critics in any manner whatsoever. He played well as a true freshman, recording 2,955 passing yards and 20 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Unfortunately, an abysmal offensive line and departing weapons forced a sharp decline during his sophomore season.

Hackenberg completed just 55.8 percent of his passes in 2014, but that was the least of his concerns. He threw 12 touchdowns to 15 interceptions, and failed to run for a single touchdown after tallying four as a freshman.

That didn’t prevent analysts from listing Hackenberg as a potential Top 10 draft pick.

Thus far in 2015, he’s done a significant measure of justice to the hype. He entered the Nittany Lions’ game against the Illinois Fighting Illini with 11 touchdowns to two interceptions, which is a stunning stat line for a player with an offensive line as weak as Penn State’s.

He’s only completing 51.9 percent of his passes, but he’s led the Nittany Lions to a 6-2 record. That’s gone a long way towards analysts forgiving his completion percentage.

For what it’s worth, Todd McShay of ESPN has Hackenberg projected as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft.

This receiving touchdown—and his destruction of Illinois through the air—should only help his profile, if not his draft stock.