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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 30, 2016

DaeSean Hamilton

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. Some people have said that Kent State may have the best secondary in the MAC. I know it's kind of early in the week yet but what have you seen from them in their secondary?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: We see that they are a very aggressive secondary. Playing basically single-high man coverage the whole game or their corners are pressed up on the outside the whole game, so it's really just about matchups.

They are one of the more aggressive groups we've seen from the past, just looking at a couple days of film of them. And then we know that their safeties are very aggressive players, as well, they want to come up and play the run and also they are pretty good in coverage, as well. It will be a pretty good matchup for us this weekend.

Q. Parker says he used to be able to 360 dunk, have you ever witnessed that?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Yeah, I've seen him do that before. We live at the retreat (ph) at State College and we played basketball there. We've been playing all summer. Yeah, I have actually witnessed that.

Q. Camp is coming to an end. How excited are you to be running through the tunnel and not be hitting someone who is wearing a blue and white jersey?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: We're very excited. Finally camp is over. We don't have to practice against each other or wake up early in the morning just to do a two-a-day or anything like that. We're really looking forward to this weekend. It's been a long summer. It's been an even longer off-season with all the winters and summer workouts and things like that. So we're really looking forward to it.

Q. Trace is going to make his first college career start. Have you sensed any nerves from him at all this week?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: No. Just knowing Trace personally, he doesn't really come off as a guy that can be very emotional or show his emotions or anything like that. I haven't seen any nervousness from him. From the practices we've gone to, starting up a game plan for Kent State, he's been the same even-keeled guy and being able to lead the offense and things like that.

Ever since he was announced as starter, he took that role and ran with it. He's just ready to lead this team to the best of his capabilities.

Q. During our availabilities at camp, it's looked like you've been really comfortable in the slot and working through some of those schemes. What's that been like for you, and is there a play that you can specifically think of that you're really proud of that you made during fall camp?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Yeah, being in the slot is really fun. I like it a lot. I didn't think it was going to be too much of a challenge for me because I had been in there in the previous two years I've been playing here.

So I really am looking forward to actually coming in and playing some games, but throughout camp and everything like that, it's been a really fun and easy adjustment.

And then one of my favorite plays, especially being the in the slot, was Coach Franklin, he I guess came up with a random ran a situation where it was like fourth and goal, and we were down by five points or whatever. The offense was down by five points and we were going against our one defense. It was the last play of the game and we ran like a little option route in the slot and then I won on my defender, and we ended the practice that was and I was really happy.

Q. Who was your defender?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Malik.

Q. What did you say to him after?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Me and Malik have been having great battles all camp. He didn't talk to me for a few days after that. It's all the competitiveness and that's basically we've just been going at each other all camp long.

Q. You added some weight in the off-season. Was the focus there to be able to beat press coverage more often with that added size?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Well, it was just me being in the slot, I'm going against like linebacker-type of guys and safeties. So those guys are the more aggressive type of people and the second level of the defense. So just adding up to my muscle mass, I guess.

Just making my body adjust to things that I'm going to see, rather than just trying to beat the smaller corners, so that's not really my focal point anymore, being in the slot. So I'm going against those bigger kind of guys.

I'm still keeping my versatility up and things like that, but adding a little bit of muscle to it, as well, it will help me in the long run.

Q. We've seen a lot last year what Saquon Barkley can do, but you've been able to see him this off-season. How much more do you think he's capable of, and as a follow-up, are you tired yet of getting asked about Barkley?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: No, I don't really get asked that much about Saquon. Just seeing the things that he's done coming from last year and then building off of that success coming into this year, really the sky's the limit for him. I think he knows that. Everyone on the offense knows that. I'm just really proud of him taking a role as a leader, one of the vocal leaders on the offense.

That's really one of the only thing his game was missing, being a young guy as a freshman, not talking and things like that, and now stepping into a leadership role, that's the only thing he's had to change or adjust to in college football. But everyone knows the sky is the limit for him and he can do a lot of great things.

Q. What have been some of the advantages for you moving to the slot position?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Just going against guys that aren't really used to covering, people that have played wide receiver or that have played outside and are finally moving inside, going against safeties, they are the more aggressive guys that are looking to come in and stop the run, especially in the Big Ten which is a run-heavy conference.

Then going against linebackers, as well, being able to just definitely take advantage of that mishmash because they definitely don't cover a lot, especially against wide receivers. It's really just putting my advantages to everyone else's weaknesses, so it really has played out in my favor and it's been a good move.

Q. Going through the summer program with Hackenberg (ph) as your starting quarterback versus McSorley, how has that changed how you've gone through camp?
DAESEAN HAMILTON: Nothing's really changed. Only thing that's really changed is the offense. But Trace now being the starting quarterback, he's taken what he's learned from Hack as being a vocal leader as well as a person that's performing and doing all the right things on and off the field.

Nothing's really changed, especially from like the wide receivers standpoint or preparation or anything like that, especially for me, it just all seems the same. It's just another guy coming in and doing what they are supposed to be doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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