Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1030409
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> son, Hamler replied, "Two-six got it from me." Against Kent State, Hamler had an- other 52-yard return to set up a mo- mentum-swinging touchdown just before halftime, and he broke loose for 33 yards on his first attempt at return- ing a punt. So basically, everything he has done so far has been mesmerizing. And per- haps the best news of all for Penn State is that Hamler has a whole lot of col- lege football ahead of him. "There's more to come," he said. "I love my team. They love me back. I would do anything for them. I'm my brothers' keeper, so whatever my brothers need, I've got them. And they've got me. I've got their back." What they need is more of the same, and there's a good chance they're going to get it. Hamler is determined to keep making plays and bringing atti- tude. On his mouthguard, he's written the words "DAWG MENTALITY," a constant reminder of the mindset he aims to carry onto the field. "You have to be that dog. You have to have no fear of any man," he said. "So we all go by that code. That's why I think we're going to be successful. We just have to toughen up, be a dog each play and just have a great work ethic toward everything that we do, no mat- ter if it's school, outside of football, doesn't matter. We always have to be competitive." That's exactly what Franklin wants to see, and Hamler figures prominently in his plans to keep the Nittany Lions rolling in the years to come. "We've got a lot of belief in K.J. and have for a long time," Franklin said. "This is really the first football game he's played in two years. He had an in- jury his senior year of high school. He showed up here and still wasn't ready, so we had to redshirt him. But we see this stuff all the time from him. One of the things we probably have to look at is ways we can get his hands on the ball a little bit more offensively and on spe- cial teams, because he has a chance to change the game at any moment." ■ RECORD HOLDER McSorley has al- ready set the school record for total of- fense and is within reach of many oth- ers as he enters the final months of his college career. Photo by Steve Manuel