In a way, Penn State’s spring game showed how far the Nittany Lions have come. In another, it painted a picture of a team that still has a long way to go.

But no matter how you look at it, the weight of Penn State’s second season under head coach James Franklin rests on the shoulders of Christian Hackenberg, whose play has turned into the predominant pulse of the program.

On the one hand, the junior quarterback’s play in last Saturday’s spring game showed plenty of progress. His 17-for-29, 180-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception performance saw him evenly distribute the ball to an array of receivers.

According to Franklin, Hackenberg actually wasn’t supposed to play more than a series or two in the team’s annual exhibition, but the absence of backup Todd McSorley for an undisclosed reason forced the Nittany Lions’ starter to play well into the third quarter.

“I enjoyed it,” Hackenberg said after the game. “I got to work with these guys and go through the ups and the downs of the game with the team as a unit.”

Overall, Hackenberg‘s showing was solid, but there was one alarming number that stood out more than anything else.

Spring games can be tough to judge for a variety of reasons, but the five sacks recorded against the Palmyra, Virginia, native brought back painful memories of a 2014 season during which opponents reached the Penn State backfield on an all-too-consistent basis.

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Hackenberg makes a play in the Penn State spring game.

After a 2013 that saw him burst onto the scene as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Hackenberg was sacked an NCAA-high 44 times, as the Nittany Lions’ scholarship reductions appeared to be finally catching up to them.

The regular pressure from opponents led to a dip in his completion percentage, touchdown total and passer rating from his freshman season, and his interception total rose from 10 picks in 2013 to 15 in 2014.

Adjusting from Bill O’Brien’s pro-style offense to Franklin’s more spread-friendly system also likely didn’t help Hackenberg‘s cause during what was an apparent sophomore slump. The 6’4″, 236-pounder was never benched, but the pressure in Happy Valley got so immense that he had to dispel rumors that he’d look into transferring in the offseason.

“This is where I want to be,” Hackenberg said following the Nittany Lions’ regular-season finale, a 34-10 loss to Michigan State on Nov. 29. “This is the team I love, the guys I love, the university I love. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.”

The former 5-star prospect stuck to his word, but much was still made of his relationship with Franklin.

Despite each saying all the right things, the fact of the matter remained that Hackenberg came to Penn State in a time of trouble to play for O’Brien, who wound up in the NFL after just one season.

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Hackenberg had a hard time escaping trouble in 2014.

This offseason, however, Franklin and Hackenberg appear to be fully on the same page, with the head coach making a concerted effort to defend the play of his quarterback.

At his opening press conference before the start of spring practice, Franklin admitted that maybe even he didn’t appreciate all that Hackenberg had to go through as a sophomore.

“Last year, Christian spent most of his time solving problems, running from problems, taking a lot of criticism, which I’m really, really defensive about. To be honest with you, looking back at it, a little angry that he faced some of the criticism he did. I don’t know if it was fair, just or realistic,” Franklin said.

“I think in the long run, the adversity that he went through physically and emotionally in getting through those things is really going to help him,” he said. “He earned a lot of people’s respect inside our program with how he handled things.”

Whether it’s an excuse or an explanation, Franklin pointed to Penn State’s unstable offensive line situation as the primary reason for his struggles. The second-year Nittany Lions head coach expects this year to be different, however, with his team back at the full capacity of 85 scholarships.

“There’s nobody that is happier about this group returning and the strides they’ve made than Mr. and Mrs. Hackenberg,” Franklin said. “I’m excited about them. I know [offensive line coach] Herb [Hand] is excited about working with him. I know they’re so much more confident mentally and physically, all those things.”

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Hackenberg will need those words to ring true in order to prove that he’s closer to the 2013 version of himself that had him projected as a future No. 1 overall pick than the 2014 signal-caller who helped eke out a 7-6 record thanks to an overtime win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The spring game may not have been promising in that regard, but Hackenberg himself was adamant that he’s comfortable with his protection.

“I think those guys will continue to get better and work extremely hard,” he said of his offensive line. “I am not worried about [the five sacks].”

He might not be now, but for Penn State to have any chance of making some noise in a suddenly competitive Big Ten East Division, Hackenberg is going to have to be standing upright in order to prove that he’s the star he appeared to be just two years ago.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report’s Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.