Blue White Illustrated

2 0 1 9 K I C K O F F S P E C I A L K .J. Hamler has his answer down pat. Penn State's top returning receiver from the 2018 season has been called upon to lead an offense that features plenty of talent but very little experience. A new starting quar- terback and running back are assured, two new starters will appear on the line, and at Hamler's position group, three of the six receivers who earned starts in 2018 have since moved on from the pro- gram. Asked how he intends to inhabit the ex- panded role necessary to propel the Nit- tany Lion offense forward, Hamler instinctively shifts into autopilot. "With me, it's not really a talking thing," he said. "I don't really like to talk." This is demonstrably false, both from firsthand interactions as well as anecdo- tally from those who know Hamler best. If anything, within the Penn State foot- ball program, Hamler is known for talk- ing. Football, relationships, music, movies – whatever the subject, the red- shirt sophomore has never been known to hold his tongue. "The only thing faster than K.J.'s feet is his mouth," coach James Franklin said. "He's not afraid to speak his mind and have some personality and charisma with it." With that in mind, Hamler's sudden reticence offers the rare occasion to stop the speedster in his tracks. The point, Hamler says, is that he's en- visioning his leadership style working be- yond just words. He wants to demon- strate a work ethic worth emulating both on the field and off, in workouts, at prac- tice, in film study and in games. By doing so, he's hoping to instill the same in his peers. "OK. I do like to talk," Hamler admitted. "But [leadership] is more of a working as- pect when I'm on the field. If they see me working, they want to work the same as me. None of us slack off. We just go out there and handle business." After a disheartening 2018 season, Penn State's receiver corps would like nothing more than to follow that lead. The Nittany Lions started out strong last year. The team's four primary receivers – Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins, Brandon Polk, and Hamler – helped Penn State average 55.5 points per game during its 4-0 start. Heading into its Big Ten home opener, PSU had the top-ranked scoring offense in the Football Bowl Sub- division and owned a team pass effi- ciency rating of 154.8, good for 33rd nationally. But even amid that high-scoring start, there were hints of the problems ahead. The Lions dropped six passes during a rain-soaked game at Pitt in the second week of the season, and while it was easy to write those miscues off as byproducts of the slick field conditions, they instead turned out to be a harbinger. The re- ceivers combined to drop at least one pass in every Big Ten game, and their problems were compounded by injuries that quar- terback Trace McSorley sustained later in the year. After the season, Pro Football Focus gave the Nittany Lions' pass catchers a score of 62.2 on a 100-point scale. The grade, which encompassed the team's tight ends and running backs as well as wide receivers, placed Penn State 112th out of 127 FBS teams. In addition, among individual receivers with at least 20 targets for the season, Polk, Thompkins and Johnson had three of the nation's highest drop percentages. Polk's six drops on 15 passes that were deemed "catchable" worked out to a 40 percent drop rating, tied for the highest among Power Five receivers. Meanwhile, Thompkins was targeted 49 times, fin- ishing with 25 receptions and nine drops for a 26.5 percent drop rating (eighth- highest nationally). Johnson's perform- ance wasn't much of an improvement, as he was charged with six drops to rank 20th. Hamler wasn't immune to the prob- lems that were affecting Penn State's re- ceiver corps. He reeled in 42 of 46 catchable balls (on 74 targets) while being charged with four drops for an 8.7 percent drop rate. It wasn't the unit's worst percentage, but it was unsatisfac- tory as far as Hamler was concerned. Vowed the receiver, "It won't happen again." GIFT OF GRAB C O V E R S T O R Y | Sophomore wide receiver K.J. Hamler is known for his vivacious personality, but he's planning to let his actions do much of the talking as he works to spearhead a Nittany Lion offensive revival in 2019

• Cover