There was no guarantee Christian Hackenberg would be sitting in New York City, with a jacket that had a bowl emblem emblazoned on its right breast, in December 2014 when he signed his Letter of Intent to play at Penn State in Feb. 2013.

It didn't matter.

The quarterback and his teammates were back in the public spotlight Monday in the Big Apple, as the Lions arrived seven days ahead of their Pinstripe Bowl clash with Boston College Dec. 27 at Yankee Stadium.

"It's been good to have a little time off," Hackenberg said Monday. "And then to have these practices back at school have been great."

Penn State was still sanctioned, and not bowl eligible, when Hackenberg signed on a dotted line nearly two years ago at Fork Union High School in Virginia. But Penn State was the school the signal caller wanted to be at, bowl game or not.

He and many others were rewarded for that loyalty in September, when the NCAA decided to drop all sanctions against the program, including the bowl ban. Now preparing for the postseason two years earlier than he likely expected to, Hackenberg looked back on his decision Tuesday while sporting a navy blue Pinstripe Bowl jacket, one of a few gifts the players received from the bowl hosts.

"It really wasn't an issue for me when I was considering schools and when I signed here," Hackenberg said. "Obviously, it's a great opportunity for not just myself but everybody.

"And the guys that stayed, the seniors, it's a great opportunity for them," Hackenberg said. "It wasn't a deciding factor for me coming into it, but it's exciting and a great time for the program."

And how great were the three weeks and change he was able to spend between now and the end of the regular season healing and preparing for the Eagles?

"It was just good for me to be able to sit back, relax, and get my legs back underneath me; be able to do a little bit of rehab here and there, and get everything working" he said. "Rest, I think, was the biggest thing, and then to be able to come out here and come back and start practicing and get into the flow of things, I think it was huge.

"Not just for myself, but all these young guys that were forced to play a season early and play a lot. I think that's helped the whole process."

Penn State's sophomore quarterback said he's never been to New York City before, and joked that it's "not my thing" when asked about the traffic coming into the city. It's certainly a far cry from his small-town Virginia roots.

Hackenberg's sophomore season was a similarly far cry from his freshman season in many respects. Yet, this year is ending with a bowl game. And in his head coach's mind, he's grown immensely despite the struggles.

"He's been good," Penn State head coach James Franklin said. "I've tried to say this all year long; I don't really feel like Christian has been our issue.

"I've been saying since the end of spring ball that it was the development of all the guys around Christian that were going to allow him to continue to grow."