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2 0 1 7 K I C K O F F S P E C I A L senior tight end said. "He's a guy who's extremely accountable. He doesn't make any mental errors. He's not running the wrong route. He's doing all the right things. He's a great leader, not only for the other receivers but for everybody else, in- cluding myself." That work ethic may well reward Hamilton handsomely this season. Although his numbers dropped sub- stantially the past two seasons after a breakout freshman year in which he caught 82 passes for 899 yards, Hamilton has steadily climbed Penn State's receiv- ing record books. He grabbed 45 recep- tions for 580 yards and six scores as a sophomore in 2015, finishing second on the team behind Chris Godwin. And last year he was third with 34 catches for 506 yards, including an eight-catch, 118-yard performance against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. With 161 receptions for 1,985 yards in his career, Hamilton needs only 19 catches to break Deon Butler's school record. He was disappointed that he didn't set the record last year, but it's still out there, and it remains high on his to-do list at Penn State. "I totally plan on getting that and crushing it, to be honest, and setting a whole totally new standard and making my new record some- thing that's unreachable for whoever else is coming up in the ranks," Hamilton said. "I fully expect to crush that number this year. It means a lot because of how long I've been here and how many years I've been playing, all the stuff I've put into this uni- versity and for this team. For your four years of college to come and go, and go by so fast, but to have a lasting piece and your name to stick here even when you're gone, that means a lot." Before he could turn his full attention to setting that new mark, Hamilton needed to dismiss any thoughts of completing his final season of eligibility elsewhere. Al- though he trailed only Godwin and Gesicki in receptions last season, Hamil- ton admittedly had to adjust to the fluc- tuating nature of Penn State's offense under coordinator Joe Moorhead. He wasn't targeted in the Rose Bowl, finish- ing without a catch in the Nittany Lions' loss to Southern California, and needed to spend some time during the off-season sitting down with Moorhead and re- ceivers coach Josh Gattis to gather him- self. Quickly, Hamilton realized his importance at Penn State and eschewed any of the other options available to him. "Leaving a team like this would be really stupid," he said. "The chance to be a four- year starter, the chance to be on a ranked team from the preseason, have a school record, all those pros [needed to be con- sidered]. There are no cons that would be able to outdo that." So now Hamilton will aim to put an ex- clamation point on his career as a Nittany Lion. Cited by head coach James Franklin ONE MORE TIME Hamilton gave some thought to transferring but opted instead to make the most of his final year at Penn State. "Leav- ing a team like this would be really stupid," he said. Photo by Steve Manuel

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