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UMass coach high on Hack

Mark Whipple understands what it takes for a quarterback to succeed in the NFL, and he believes Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg will be the first player drafted whenever he becomes eligible.

“If he could come out this year, he’d be the first player picked,” said Whipple, head coach of PSU’s opponent this week, UMass.

Whipple then made quite a comparison with Hackenberg.

“He reminds me of the guy I had at Pittsburgh with the Steelers,” he said.

That would be Ben Roethlisberger, who began his NFL career in 2004, and his first quarterback coach with Pittsburgh was none other than Whipple.

Hackenberg, a sophomore, won’t be eligible for next year’s NFL draft, since players must wait three years after high school before they can turn pro. He will be eligible for the 2016 draft, and the PSU signal caller has been picking up several endorsements lately as a high pick.

“You see the way he’s taken the team on his shoulders, the way he played all ast year and the way he handles, not just success, but the way he handles failure,” Whipple said Monday.

He went on to add, “He’s going to be the first pick, and he’s a great player. He’s doing what everyone knows he can do.”

Whipple knows more about Hackenberg than most opposing coaches because his son, Austin, was a walk-on quarterback on last year’s Penn State team. Austin, who transferred to UMass following the 2013 season, also was Hackenberg’s roommate at PSU.

“I’ve seen him play every single game,” Austin Whipple told masslive.com. “I’ve seen his practice habits, I’ve seen him in the meeting room, I’ve seen the way he worked with (Bill O’Brien). He’s the real deal.”

SUBHD: Players honored

Penn State cornerback Trevor Williams was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week by the conference Monday after intercepting two passes in Saturday’s 13-10 win at Rutgers.

Another Lion, tackle Anthony Zettel, received the Big Ten’s weekly defensive honor from Athlon. Zettel had three tackles for loss Saturday.

SUBHD: NW?TV set

Penn State’s homecoming game against Northwestern on Sept. 27 will kick off at noon and be broadcast on BTN.

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