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with 14 catches for 126 yards in an over- time loss to eventual national champion Ohio State. It was a stellar performance, but Hamilton wasn't satisfied with it, be- cause he had only two touchdown re- ceptions and eight catches of 25 or more yards. That's an area in which he wants to see a major improve- ment this fall. "I want to be able to stretch the 8eld vertically and be an all-around threat," he said. "We have high expecta- tions now for that type of performance this fall. With the type of performance we had against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, consistency is the main thing and also taking our game to the next level. As long as we set the bar high and miss small, we're going to have a great turnout next year." When Penn State opened its 2014 sea- son against UCF last August, few would have predicted the type of impact both Hamilton and Zettel would go on to have on the program. Jones and especially Robinson were believed by everyone to be irreplaceable. Yet Zettel actually sur- passed Jones's productivity, and Hamil- ton laid the groundwork for an out- standing college career, breaking a num- ber of Penn State freshman receiving records. That brings me to my breakout per- formers on o9ense and defense coming out of this year's spring practice ses- sions. The choices are not clear-cut in 2015, and it would be di:cult if not im- possible to narrow the list down to a sin- gle player on o9ense and defense. So I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to list two players on defense and three on o9ense who appear poised to have big years. My two breakout candidates on de- fense are redshirt sophomore end Gar- rett Sickels and sophomore cornerback Grant Haley. Sickels is replacing Deion Barnes at defensive end, while Haley is taking over the 8eld cornerback spot that Jordan Lucas held down the past two years before being moved this spring to strong safety. On o9ense, my breakout trio consists of tight ends Adam Breneman and Mike Gesicki and guard Brendan Mahon. Breneman has reportedly been looking good as he comes back from the knee injury that forced him to take a medical redshirt last season, while Gesicki has developed the physical size and athletic skills to become an All-Big Ten tight end before he graduates from Penn State and most likely ends his football career in the NFL. Not to be overlooked is Ma- hon, who was recently named the recip- ient of the Jim O'Hora Award, which is given annually to the most improved player on o9ense coming out of spring practice. Before Breneman su9ered an ACL in- jury that forced him to miss his senior season at Cedar Cli9 High School in Mechanicsburg, Pa., he was rated by Ri- vals.com as the No. 1 tight end in the country for the Class of 2013. He gradu- ated from Cedar Cli9 with 132 recep- tions for 1,988 yards and 20 touch- downs despite missing all of his senior year. Had Breneman not missed his entire BE LIKE MIKE Gesicki has developed into a prototype tight end. After a strong off- season in the weight room, he now stands 6-6, 255 pounds. Photo by Steve Manuel

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