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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> DEEP IMPACT C O V E R S T O R Y Wideout DaeSean Hamilton is aiming for a record-smashing senior season at PSU aeSean Hamilton's mind is set. It has been for some time. A mainstay at wide receiver for Penn State the past three seasons, he is convinced that his late-game drop at Pittsburgh cost the Nittany Lions a shot at the College Football Play- off last season. He believes that play, one of 66 the Lions ran against the Panthers in September 2016, was ultimately what kept his team from having a chance to win a national championship. "If you look at it realistically, that's what it came down to. From the bottom of my heart, I believe that," Hamilton said. "Guys always tell me, 'No, that's not right. You can't think of it that way.' No. I catch that pass, we're in the top four." The play has likely been forgotten by a lot of Penn State fans by now, having been replaced by fonder memories of a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth, and by anticipation for a 2017 season in which expectations have surged. Hamilton hasn't forgotten it, though. After spotting the Panthers a 14-point halftime lead at Heinz Field in week two, the Nittany Lions put together a big second-half comeback and were down by only a field goal in the final minutes. They had the ball near midfield with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left to play and appeared to be on the move again. Out of the shotgun on second-and-6, quarterback Trace McSorley bluffed a handoff to Andre Robin- son, setting his sights on the left side of the field. The play-action was just a set-up, freeing McSorley to air out a pass deep downfield to Hamilton, who was three steps ahead of a helpless Pitt defensive back. Only 25 yards separated him from the end zone, but Hamilton's potentially winning catch in- stead slipped through the tips of his fingers and onto the turf. Penn State was able to extend the possession by converting a fourth-and-16 to the 32-yard line. But just a few plays later, a McSorley interception into the back of the end zone ended the Nittany Lions' hopes for a win. The interception turned out to be the game's deci- sive moment, but Hamilton insists that his was the missed opportunity. What he fails to mention is how remarkable his af- ternoon had been to that point. He led the team with eight receptions for 82 yards in the game, helping Penn State fight back from a 21-point deficit in the first half. But he wasn't able to hold onto McSorley's would-be winner, and the play continued to haunt him throughout the season, in part because he be- lieved that it affected not just himself, but his team- mates, coaches and the entire program. This, he says, is an eminently fair standard by which he should be judged. "It's not really unfair pressure. I see it as being re- alistic," Hamilton said. "Everyone else says that you can't really put that much pressure on yourself be- cause there's so much more that happened in the season that didn't go our way. It was more of a let- ting-my-team-down type of feeling rather than me feeling bad about myself." | D

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