Blue White Illustrated

T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N omore and junior seasons. He transferred to IMG Academy prior to his senior year, hoping to further enhance his recruiting resume, but his season ended almost as soon as he arrived in Bradenton. It was a big blow to his career, and for a while he had trouble summoning his usual opti- mism. "I had a lot of doubt," Hamler ad- mitted. "It really felt like it was the end for me. I always had that thought in my mind: What if I can't come back and be myself? What if I can't run my fastest? What if I can't shake people like I used to?" But those feelings didn't last long. Hamler focused on his recovery and headed to Penn State in January 2017 as an early enrollee. He shed his knee brace this past winter, and as soon as it came off he began to feel like his former self. Now, he says, he's "blessed to be back at 200 percent. And I'm just going to keep going on from here." James Franklin had been hoping to see all of that energy translate into yardage in Penn State's opener. But Hamler had only two catches for 7 yards in the first half of the game against Appalachian State, and the coach sensed that his young wideout was feeling unusually subdued. "He hadn't said a word," Franklin said, "and the only thing faster than K.J.'s feet is his mouth." So he encouraged Hamler to start talk- ing. "I want you to play the same way you practice, and you don't act like this in practice, so start having some fun, start enjoying yourself," Franklin told him. "I don't know if that's what did it or not. Either way, he made some huge plays for us." Did he ever. Hamler had a diving 46- yard catch early in the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown, and in addition to starting the Lions' tying drive later in the quarter with his kick return, he also fin- ished it, making a 15-yard TD catch with 42 seconds left. Before his breakout day against Ap- palachian State, Hamler's only perform- ance in Beaver Stadium was in the Blue-White Game this past April. He had showed off his dazzling speed in that game, but his biggest moment – a 43- yard catch in the second quarter – was marred when he fumbled after being hit by Lamont Wade. There were no mixed feelings about his showing on opening day, though. And the following week against Pitt, he con- tinued to show off his game-changing potential. Hamler had Penn State's first two touchdowns in a 51-6 romp, scoot- ing around the left side of the Panthers' defense for a 32-yard score on a jet sweep and following that with a 14-yard TD catch. He also had a 28-yard kickoff return in which he tried to hurdle a Pitt defender a la Saquon Barkley before being dragged to the turf by his face- mask. Asked afterward if he'd been watching tape of Barkley from last sea- SURE HANDS Hamler pulls in a 15-yard touch- down catch in the final minute against Ap- palachian State. The score, Ham- ler's first as a college player, sent the game to overtime. Photo by Steve Manuel

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