STATE COLLEGE For Penn State sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg the pre-season hype machine is in overdrive.

Hackenberg has already been named to pre-season award lists such as the Maxwell Award (nation's top player) and Davey O'Brien (nation's top quarterback), which means on a national level expectations are high for the super soph. Expectations are also high within the Penn State camp as Hackenberg will be expected to take on a much more involved leadership role.It was evident that everyone was on the same page Monday, as a swarm of media members trailed Hackenberg as soon as he stepped onto the field at Beaver Stadium. The young gun, looking relaxed as ever, sporting a penn state football visor plopped down on one of the sideline benches and to his credit handled the overwhelming media presence with poise.Of course, the main question of the day regarding Hackenberg was that is he ready to handle the load of leading the Nittany Lions offense? Not just on the field, but in the locker room as well?"I'm more of a guy who likes to lead by example and I open my mouth when I feel it needs to be opened," said Hackenberg. "As far as the pre-season accolades stuff goes, that doesn't affect me at all. I'm just focused on getting better each day and helping this team win in any way that I can. Whether I have to hand the ball off 40 times or throw the ball 40 times, I'm trying to be the best leader and teammate that I can be."It's hard to imagine that as Hackenberg's confidence continues to grow along with his competitive edge that his overall vocal presence will not improve. Sometimes, it's hard to forget that this kid is just a sophomore and with some people it takes time to develop that on the field vocality. Also, as Hackenberg mentioned if his play is as good as everyone thinks it will be the usual case is that everyone will follow suit.Obviously, Penn State's first year head coach James Franklin's expects "Hack" to be a leader for his team, but he made it abundantly clear on Monday that he's more worried about developing the talent around his quarterback."We are looking for improvements from "Hack," but I'm going to be honest with you, where our focus really is, is all the pieces of the puzzle around "Hack," said Franklin. "You know, that's going to allow him to continue to develop, making sure that we are able to protect him with our offensive line and making sure that we are able to be balanced offensively. But obviously I want him to be more confident so he can make really good decisions in terms of protecting the football, get the ball out of his hand as quickly as he possibly can, and what you like to see with a quarterback I know in this system is, they get to a point where they feel like the defense can't be right."A big offensive hole the Nittany Lions must fill is the loss of Allen Robinson. The two-time BIG 10 Wide Receiver of the Year caught 97 balls for 1,432 yards and six touchdowns. He's now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, so who are the leading candidates to pick up Robinson's production load from a season ago? The overall consensus seems to be the tight end group, meaning Kyle Carter, Jesse James, Adam Breneman, and incoming freshman Mike Gesicki will be counted on to make up for those 97 catches."This tight end group is deep, they're talented," said Hackenberg. "They're the guys that probably have the most experience on our offense. We're really excited what they bring to the table and we hope to utilize them the best way we can."Carter and James have been named to the John Mackey Award list (nation's top tight end) with James, a junior getting a lot of pre-season hype because of his measurables. the 6-7 272-pound target runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and can bench press 225 pounds 27 times. In 2013, James caught 25 balls for 333 yards and three touchdowns. He'll have to improve that in 2014 and judging by James' demeanor he seems ready to do so."I'm looking to be a more balanced player and also I'm ready to step into that leadership role this season," said James. "I really want to be a better leader for my team. As a tight end unit we're ready to take on as big of a role as our team needs. With the experienced players that we have I feel that we're ready to embrace that."As usual, there are many hyoptheticals, many questions, and really no answers until the Nittany Lions hit the field against UCF at Croke Park in Ireland on August 3O. One thing is for sure, the excitement buzzing around the Penn State program should be able to hold over blue and white faithful until college football's opening weekend.