Exiting spring, head coach Bill O’Brien firmly stated that neither Tyler Ferguson (pictured) nor Steven Bench had separated themselves in the race to replace Matt McGloin as Penn State’s starting quarterback. With Bench transferring to USF, and with five-star 2013 signee Christian Hackenberg on his way, it was thought the competition would become a two-player chase.
At least for now, that particular summer camp storyline has officially been set.
In his latest depth chart released Thursday, O’Brien listed the quarterbacks as Ferguson followed by Hackenberg, but separated by an “OR.” Thus, the two players will enter camp, which begins Aug. 5 after the players report the day before, as co-starters.
Ferguson was an early enrollee at Penn State this past January after spending the 2012 season at a California junior college. Hackenberg, on the other hand, comes to Happy Valley with a very heft recruiting résumé.
The five-star player was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2013; the No. 3 player in the state of Virginia; and the No. 24 player in the country at any position. 247Sports.com was even higher on Hackenberg, rating him as the top player at his position as well as the No. 6 player overall.
“We have a very good feeling about our team this summer,” O’Brien said in general, although he could very well have been talking specifically about the state of the most important position on a football field -- and a certain incoming freshman who most expect will grab the starting by the throat from the get-go and run away with it.