Blue White Illustrated

performance was reflective of what he had seen from the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Indiana native throughout the off-sea- son. "This is kind of who Mac is," Rahne said. "Mac's a gamer. He happens to make plays in big spots. I could see it in his eyes, especially after that first series where you could tell he was really focused and locked in. When he does that, he's hard to deal with. I thought he had a great day today." Hippenhammer was one half of a red- shirt freshman pass-catching combo that had teammates buzzing throughout spring practice. The other player who raised eyebrows was K.J. Hamler, a 5-9, 172-pound speedster from Pontiac, Mich. Hamler's public debut was not as un- equivocally successful as Hippenham- mer's. He took an end-around 10 yards to set up the Blue's second score, show- ing off his tremendous speed on that play. He showed it again later in the quarter on a 43-yard completion from McSorley. Unfortunately for the young wideout, that play ended in disappoint- ment, as safety Lamont Wade was able to jar the ball loose for a drive-killing turnover. Still, with wheels like that, it was easy to envision Hamler becoming the kind of field-stretching threat that Penn State will be looking for in order to keep its big- play offense humming this coming sea- son. With four of their top six pass-catchers from last season having departed, the Lions will need their young receivers to step into prominent roles. In Hippen- hammer's case, that has meant finding a way to balance football with his academic workload and a second sport. He's also on the baseball team, the fulfillment of a wish he had expressed while being re- cruited. "He wanted to play baseball," coach James Franklin said. "We know that just being a student at Penn State is challeng- ing, and then to try to be a student and then play football is really, really chal- lenging. To think it's like high school where you can play two sports and go to school – it's very challenging and very difficult. I said, 'I'm open to it, but it's going to come down to how you do aca- demically. If you handle your business in the fall from an academic perspective, you handle your business from a football perspective and we think you're ready to take on this additional responsibility, then we'll do it.' " Hippenhammer "crushed it" in the classroom, Franklin said, clearing the way for him to join coach Rob Cooper's base- ball team. He played in a few early-season games as an outfielder and pinch runner, then put his baseball career on hold during spring football practice. When practice wrapped up in late April, he returned to the baseball team. Hippenhammer made his home debut May 5 as a pinch runner in a 6-1 victory over Michigan State. Heading into the final weeks of the regu- lar season, he had appeared in seven games, with three starts and one base hit in 10 at-bats. "I'm excited to go over and support Coach Cooper and the baseball program and watch Mac," Franklin said. "It should be fun and exciting, because I know our team will be rallying behind the baseball team as well as Mac. For the right kid in the right situation, I think it's doable." –M.H. S P E C I A L S E C T I O N

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