Blue White Illustrated

You never know when your moment is going to arrive, so you'd better be ready when it does. That's the attitude redshirt sophomore DaeSean Hamilton and his fellow Penn State wideouts have adopted this season as they've worked to make an impact on an offense that is still trying to get into a productive rhythm. "Every week you just try and do the things you always do," Hamilton said. "You try to make sure the guys aren't getting too down on themselves or are thinking, 'Since I didn't get that many opportunities this week, it's going to be like that all season.' It could be any of us having a great game. As long as we have that mindset every Saturday, we can ap- proach it as an opportunity to have one of our better games." With 24 catches for 316 yards through eight games, Hamilton is well off of the blistering pace he set during his redshirt freshman season, when he led the Big Ten with 82 receptions. That's due partly to the emergence of sophomore Chris Godwin as a deep threat, partly to ongo- ing pass-protection issues, partly to the lousy weather that stuck around for most of the nonconference season and partly to an increased emphasis on the running game following the sensational debut of freshman Saquon Barkley. As a team, the Nittany Lions are fielding the Big Ten's 10th-ranked passing offense heading into this week's matchup with Illinois, averaging 194.6 yards per game. But last week, the passing game became the focal point of the Lions' offensive at- tack, as Maryland surprised them with a defensive scheme that crowded the line of scrimmage while leaving the wideouts in single coverage all aAernoon. Penn State needed to throw deep, and it did just that, totaling 315 passing yards and averaging a gaudy 24.2 yards per completion. Included in those totals were touchdown passes to three receivers: a 37-yarder to Godwin, a 20-yarder to Hamilton and an acrobatic 27-yarder to Geno Lewis. Hamilton said it was the most fun he'd had since Penn State wrapped up its 2014 sea- son by throwing for 371 yards against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. "It was fun to watch, especially with so many guys making plays and so many guys being out there and making the most of the opportunities," Hamilton said. "Coach [Josh Gattis] was excited for all the guys in the [receivers] room, and that so many guys were able to con- tribute against Maryland." AAer seeing what Penn State did to the Terps, Illinois might be wary of taking a similar approach. But if the Illini back away from the line of scrimmage, they risk giving Barkley the kind of openings he's used to gouge Buffalo, Rutgers and Ohio State, especially now that he's nearly all the way back from the ankle sprain that forced him to miss two games. Regardless of how the Illini line up, Hamilton said the wideouts will need to be prepared to make plays. "It's not always about [the opponent], it's more about us," he said. "A lot of teams in the Big Ten are going to play the same defenses because of the style of play in the conference. We just need to execute the game plan, and put an emphasis on getting separation. That's our mindset week in and week out." M A T T H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O C T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 13 READY FOR ANYTHING DaeSean Hamilton helps Penn State get passing game airborne Franklin: PSU 'is where I want to be' James Franklin was mentioned Sun- day by CBSSports.com as a potential candidate for the head coaching post at Miami after Al Golden was fired over the weekend. The story said there are "rumblings that Franklin would be interested. [He] has no ties to Miami but probably would have a better chance to win in the ACC Coastal rather than an increasingly brutal Big Ten East." At his weekly news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Franklin said he was fully committed to Penn State, adding that he did not like seeing his name mentioned in connection with another school. "I think it causes a distraction for our team," he said. "I think it's a dis- traction for Penn State. And I have no idea where it's coming from whatso- ever. My family has sacrificed. I have worked my ass off to get to Penn State. To get here. And this is where I want to be." Less than two full years into his tenure at Penn State, Franklin has compiled a 13-8 record and has the Lions bowl-eligible for the second consecutive season. He acknowledged that the program is not where he would like it to be but said he is eager to continue the rebuilding project he took on when he accepted the job in January 2014. "We have a lot of work to do on the field. We have a lot of work to do off the field in every aspect, but this is where I want to be," he said. "Stuff like that, I guess some people could look at it as a compliment. I don't. My focus is 100 percent on Penn State. "I'm not going to address it any- more. I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I've worked like crazy to get here. This is where I want to be, this is where my family wants to be, this is where my staff wants to be. So that's really the end of the discus- sion." –NATE BAUER

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