Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S TAT E FO O T BA L L >> 2 0 1 7 K I C KO F F S P E C I A L as one of the team's more underrated players, one who hasn't gotten a lot of preseason attention but who is likely to have a big impact this fall, Hamilton has paid no mind to his absence from various award watch lists. "I know what I'm able to do. I don't re- ally need a whole bunch of other people to try to pinpoint how good I am, what I'm good at or what I'm not good at," he said. "I'm going to do everything that I can do to make sure that we are put in good positions to win games. I'm doing everything that I can to capitalize on my opportunities. I can't really listen to what people are projecting, what they aren't talking about or what they are talking about. That has nothing to do with what I'm going to do." If Franklin's recent advocacy can be taken as an indication, a receiving record might be the least of Hamilton's accom- plishments in the season ahead. Praising his experience and his intense physical and mental preparation, the Nittany Lions' fourth-year coach said his veteran wideout can expect to play a crucial role in the offense. "There are bigger guys, there are faster guys and there are stronger guys, but he's as polished and as productive a wideout as I've been around in a camp setting. I think he's going to have a huge year for us," Franklin said. "It would not surprise me one bit if DaeSean has a huge year for us. I'd love to see that for him, and for us." ■ S aeed Blacknall's message has a famil- iar ring to it. Meeting with the media at Beaver Sta- dium in early August, only 8ve practices into the Nittany Lions' preseason camp, the veteran wideout wanted to make clear that he is focused on nothing other than the present. "I just want to take it game by game, just be the best wide receiver I can be today, and then the next day, be the best wide receiver I can be for that day," Blacknall said. The words of a student-athlete who has bought in? "I am bought in," Blacknall replied. "Completely bought in." The 6-foot-3, 208-pound senior is coming o9 a junior season in which he caught 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns. The highlight of that sea- son – and of his career to date – was a spectacular performance in the Big Ten Championship Game, in which he caught six passes for 155 yards and two long touchdowns, helping the Nittany Lions earn a comeback victory over Wisconsin. But amid the successes have been a number of disappointments, too. He was forced to miss four of Penn State's 8rst 8ve games last year with a hand injury he su9ered in the opener, and he also sat out the Rose Bowl due to an unspeci8ed violation of team rules. Despite those setbacks, Blacknall faced heightened expectations as the team began spring practice. Chris Godwin had opted to leave early for the NFL, depriving the team of its leading receiver the past two seasons, and Blacknall seemed like a logical candidate to help make up for at least a portion of that lost productivity. But the hope that Blacknall would get o9 on the right foot during the spring was dashed when he su9ered another injury. He ended up missing the majority of the team's April practices, along with the Blue-White Game. Now, he's looking to make up for lost time. "For me personally, things are great," Blacknall said. "I feel like this year is a new, fresh start for everyone, just to go out and do everything we did last year and just take it game by game and just get a fresh start." Whether that fresh start will require more performances like the one Black- nall put together against the Badgers re- mains to be seen, but head coach James Franklin has le: little doubt about the possi- bilities that lie ahead for the New Jersey na- tive. The head coach said he sees the poten- tial for a breakout sea- son, and while that kind of talk can't help but raise expectations for a player whose ca- reer trajectory has been up and down, it's noth- ing that Blacknall hasn't been envision- ing for himself these past few months. "There's no pressure at all," he said. "We've all prepared, we've all been working for years for this. This has been going on three years-plus, trying to get where we want to go. So, me being a senior, this is my last chance to be the best wide receiver I can be for this uni- versity." ■ Blacknall determined to make the most of final season | READY TO ROLL Blacknall was spec- tacular in his last game, catching six passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns to help lift PSU past Wis- consin for the Big Ten title. Photo by Steve Manuel

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