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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> T H E 2 0 1 7 S E A S O N that show of appreciation continued after the game, with Franklin celebrating Hamilton as a model of perseverance. "I made a really big deal about it in the locker room with the guys," Franklin said. "I think he's a great example for our younger players. I think he is a great ex- ample in general. He gets here as a true freshman, he has a pre-existing injury and sits out his entire freshman year. The next year, he plays as a redshirt freshman, has a huge year. One year he leads the Big Ten in catches, the next year his numbers go way down. He stays positive, he just keeps working and grinding to get through it. He's had a great career, he's been a great leader, a great teammate, and he's a great student." Hamilton's determination has indeed been tested since he came to Penn State out of Fredericksburg, Va., in 2013. His wrist problem, which he believes stemmed from an undiagnosed high school injury, required surgery early in his freshman year. The operation was a suc- cess, and he went on to become the Big Ten's leading receiver as a redshirt fresh- man. But he was eclipsed during his sophomore and junior years by a younger teammate, Chris Godwin, and his receiv- ing totals steadily declined, from 82 catches in 2014 to 45 in 2015 to 34 last year. He was haunted for much of the 2016 season by a dropped pass against Pitt that might have given the Lions a late lead in a game they ended up losing by three points – a game that, as it turned out, probably kept them out of the Col- lege Football Playoff. But Hamilton kept fighting back, and he has been one of the Lions' most reliable wideouts as a senior. Through six games, he was third on the team with 22 catches for 366 yards and a team-best four re- ceiving touchdowns. That sense of pur- pose, instilled by his parents, Johnie and Madgeline Hamilton, both of whom served in the U.S. Marine Corps, is what stood out to teammates after he broke the record. "Nobody works harder than that guy, and no one deserves it more than him," quarterback Trace McSorley said. "He works so hard on his own, early morning, late nights when nobody is around. Hon- estly, nobody knows about that but him- self. That dude, he's put in so much work his whole career. He's had his ups and downs throughout his career, but he's continued to step up and never let that [affect] his work ethic. He's continued to work and get better and better, so it couldn't have happened to a better guy on our team, a better leader and a better player." Penn State has recruited a number of outstanding receivers in recent years – Franklin has signed five four-star wide- outs since his arrival – but Hamilton has a chance to make sure that his newly minted record will stand for a while. Heading into the Michigan game, he had 183 catches in his career for 2,351 yards, and he still has five more regular-season games to go, plus a bowl game. But no matter how many catches he adds to his resume, he's already im- pressed Franklin with his accomplish- ments. A former player himself, Franklin owned seven school records by the time he left East Stroudsburg University, in- cluding the marks for total offense, pass- ing yards and touchdown passes. So he knows how hard they are to get – and how hard they are to keep. "They've been playing football at Penn State for a long time. There have been a bunch of really good players," he said. "So whenever you can say that you're the all- time leader at Penn State, that's pretty special. I'm not the all-time leader at East Stroudsburg in anything anymore, and this guy is the all-time leader at Penn State, which is really impressive." ■ DaeSEAN HAMILTON BY THE NUMBERS YEAR G REC YDS AVG LONG TD YDS/G 2014 13 82 899 11.0 51 2 69.2 2015 13 45 580 12.9 48 6 44.6 2016 14 34 506 14.9 54 1 36.1 2017 6 22 366 16.6 29 4 61.0 TOTAL 46 183 2,351 12.8 54 13 51.1 Steve Manuel

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