Blue White Illustrated

about his readiness. One of the stars of the Nittany Lions' 26-24 victory over the Knights, he set Penn State freshman records for most receptions (11) and re- ceiving yards (165) in a single game, in- troducing himself not only to the PSU faithful, but to the nation as a whole. Hamilton went on to finish the season with 82 receptions (another Penn State freshman record) for 899 yards and a pair of TDs. His receptions total was the sec- ond-highest in school history, trailing only Robinson's 97-catch performance in 2013. Quickly establishing himself as quar- terback Christian Hackenberg's first op- tion, Hamilton capped his first campaign with a seven reception, 51-yard, one- touchdown performance against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. For his ef- forts, he was named to multiple Freshman All-America teams and was a second- team All-Big Ten selection. But Hamilton doesn't consider his debut season an unambiguous success. Slowed by a nagging hamstring issue as the year progressed, he saw his productivity decline in the final month of the regular season, and he totaled only seven catches for 65 yards in games against Indiana, Temple and Illinois. These days, he views the 2014 season simply as a steppingstone to bigger things – both for himself and for the re- ceiver corps as a whole. "We have a lot of expectations now after the performance that we had against Boston College," Hamilton said, noting the unit's 22 combined catches for 288 yards and three scores in the game. "It was the best performance we had all season." While that performance may have been last season's best, it will come to seem like less of an outlier if the wideouts are able to achieve the goals they have set for themselves this coming fall. It may even turn out to be the new normal. "Consistency is the main thing, and also taking our game to the next level, being an elite group and obviously just coming back next year and growing as football players and springboarding off of the Boston College game," Hamilton said. "As long as we set the bar high, we're going to have a great turnout for next year." That's not a boast; it's a reflection of the maturity and sense of purpose that Hamilton has brought to a youthful wide- out corps as he prepares for his third season with the program. One of five sophomores chosen to the team's 25-man Leadership Council this spring, he is serv- ing as a mentor to second-year receivers Chris Godwin and Saeed Blacknall, as is redshirt junior Geno Lewis. They've all been transitioning from a group that last year was learning the ropes to one that is perfecting the small details that will en- hance their productivity. The signs of progress were readily apparent to Hamilton this spring. "We're definitely a lot more comfortable," he said. "Last year, we were learning from scratch and basically everybody was just learning a whole new, different type of system, and now we've had a year of it under our belts, so it's basically just going out there and reviewing. It's basically night and day for how our offense looks now." Last year's statistics were deceptive in some respects. Hamilton led the Big Ten in receptions per game with 6.3, and Lewis was tied for eighth with 4.2. Yet incon- sistency plagued the group and contributed to an overall offensive decline. Penn State finished last in the Big Ten in scoring of- fense (20.6 points per game) and 13th in total offense (335.3 yards per game), and Hamilton came away feeling as though the unit wasn't communicating well enough to move the ball with any consis- tency. "Last year, there were a lot of timing issues. Guys were still learning the offense over the course of the season," he said. "Everybody wants to have an experienced group, everybody knowing what they're doing and knowing the game plan inside and out throughout the week during preparation rather than still learning and building your football IQ as the season goes on. "So now, with everybody having a year, people becoming older and helping out the younger guys that basically sat out last year, there's a shift in the culture, a shift in the whole upbringing of everybody. W R A P MACH 5 Hamil- ton was Penn State's leading receiver as a redshirt fresh- man, finishing with 82 catches for 899 yards. His average of 6.3 receptions per game led all Big Ten pass catchers. Photo by Steve Manuel

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