Former Penn State star Christian Hackenberg had himself a tremendous season or two under then Nittany Lions head coach Bill O’Brien. It led to the 6-foot-4 signal caller becoming a second-round pick of the New York Jets back in 2016.
In no way did this pan out. Hackenberg couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn during his two seasons in the NFL before being jettisoned from the league quicker than another bust in that of Tim Tebow.
Now years removed from being in the NFL, Hackenberg is following in Tebow’s footsteps in transitioning to the baseball diamond. He wants to be a pitcher and has Major League Baseball aspirations. This is not a drill.
Hackenberg’s strong arm is what led the Jets to draft him back in 2016. While he never appeared in a regular season game, the former NFLer showed off his arm in a big way. In fact, he can throw upwards of 90 miles-per-hour.
It must be noted that Hackenberg did pitch in high school. He has some experience.
The former Penn State star last appeared on a football field in the now-defunct XFL this past spring. He also made an appearance in another defunct league in that of the Alliance of American Football.