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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 18, 2016

DaeSean Hamilton

University Park, Pennsylvania

DaeSean Hamilton.

Q. Do you remember the first White Out that you attended, whether it was as a recruit or otherwise and I'm curious what it was like to see that scene for the first time and maybe how that compares to other atmospheres you've been in.
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: The very first White Out was when I was a freshman, like the red-shirt year that I took when Penn State played Michigan. We obviously know what happened that game. So that was probably, that, was my first one and that was probably the best one, the best college football game that I've ever been a part of and I've ever seen, live and up close and personal, things like that.

But compared to anywhere else, I don't think it does compare. It was a great atmosphere. It's been a great atmosphere the past two years, as well. Just I really can't compare it to anything else.

Q. So DeAndre has really come into his own this year. How have you seen him grow throughout the past few years, and especially this year, how has he progressed?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: Oh, yeah, DeAndre, he's really just gaining confidence. That's all it is, to be able to play at this level is just having a ton of confidence and just being able to line up across -- line up along the line of scrimmage across the guys and see that, I feel like I can beat this guy; I feel like I know what I'm doing. And he's going out there, you can see the confidence in him every day in practice, and he brings that to the game on Saturdays.

Q. Just talk about Ohio State in general what you've seen from those guys watching film and just the excitement of going against that team ranked No. 2.
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: It's pretty exciting. Obviously ranked No. 2 in the nation, we are looking forward to this. It's a pretty big game obviously. It's the White Out this weekend. Watching them on film, you see they are a very good defense. Just as physical as Michigan was and things like that.

We did a little bit of game planning during the bye week and just comparing it to their game against Wisconsin, nothing really changed up. We are expecting them to be a very physical game, up in your face, ready to attack the ball on every single down and things like that.

You know, it's going to be a fun match up for us.

Q. Coach Franklin mentioned a couple times how athletic the Ohio State defense is. Now you obviously have some great athletes on the offensive side of the ball, as well. How do you think that you guys compare athletically and are there plays where you can just out-athlete another player offensively or defensively?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: I think we compare to them -- we match-up to them, with their skill players and our skill players, we match-up very well. Obviously their whole defense, the guys that play on that side of the ball, is very athletic and things like that. You've seen it throughout the first half of the season.

There can be plays where people out-athletic or things like that, the other opponent, things like that. But really it comes down to execution. It's not really -- you can't really rely on athleticism on Saturdays and things like that. You know guys are going to be able to play the game. You have to be in the right spots. You have to be able to execute what the coaches call. And not too many teams rely on athleticism, and I know they don't do that for sure.

Q. Do you guys compare Ohio State to Michigan when you watch film, when you see them on TV over the weekend?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: Not really. It's just the whole, like they we before, they are a little bit athletic, and Michigan was a bigger defense and they are athletic, as well.

We don't really try to compare the defenses. They don't really do too many things that are similar from a game plan standpoint, and then looking at the athletes, I don't think they are pretty similar in any way, shape or form.

But we try not to compare opponents and things like that. And especially from a game plan standpoint, they don't really do too many things that are similar.

Q. As one of the veterans, what do you tell the younger guys about preparing for a game against a No. 2 opponent, and what kinds of things have you learned over the years from these types of games?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: I tell the guys at the end of the day, it's another football game, and it doesn't matter what they are ranked. At the end of the day, they are putting their pads on the way same way you are. You just go into it, you don't really think about that as soon as the ball is kicked off and you're taking snaps; you don't really think about the other stuff from the outside looking in.

What I've learned is, like I just said, they put their pads on the same way. They might be held to a higher standard, but they are still football players, and we've got to go out and we are just going to give it our best shot. We are not going to do anything different just because they are the No. 2 team or whatever the team is ranked that we play throughout the season.

Q. Some of your teammates said they kind of used the Michigan game as a chance to refocus, and those kind of things, maybe work harder, focus more. What did you take what and what was the feeling after the Michigan game compared to what you're feeling this week, the anticipation?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: The Michigan game, we just started in a hole to begin with, with the ball being backed up and gave them good field position after we go three-and-out, it kind of throws off the whole course of the game after that. But that's not an excuse of how we played.

Just taking that lesson and getting beat by another ranked team, a very good opponent. And if you don't want that feeling again, regardless of how good they were, we know how good we are. And we've just got to go out there and like I said before, they are just another football team and they are not anything special. They just don't happen to be who we are playing on Saturdays and that's what we've got to treat it like.

Q. How did the bye week specifically help you most coming into Saturday and can you talk about the specific challenges you'll face going against the guys you'll see?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: Going into the bye week, I watched a lot of film throughout the bye week because you get a lot more time to yourself and you get time to rest and things like that.

So I used that time to watch film. Not do too many things physically. Making sure I'm getting my mind right for the rest of the season and this upcoming game. And then as I'm watching film, I'm watching who is going to match up against me, exactly what they are going to do as soon as the ball's snapped. I look at a lot of guys' foot placements, I look at their footwork, things like that, especially on the DBs. I don't pay too much attention to the outside corners because that's not who I go against. I watch the safeties, just look at their rotations, how they -- which one rotates to the field, who is more in coverage, who is more man-to-man and up in each other's face, and basically that's what I really look for.

Q. Going after that, when you're watching film versus watching it live, what are some of the challenges watching a game live?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: Watching it live, you're getting stuck in watching it, like being a fan of football, rather than being a football player. Watching it live, you don't get to see matchups on the outside. You don't get to see why exactly a play went wrong. All you get to see is the live play and you see the replays of it, exactly what the commentators are saying, but you can't really relate it to how you're game planning if you're just worried about watching the live film.

That's why I really rely on watching game film and using my iPad just to watch film basically on who we are playing or who they played in the past; and how things might adjust when we're playing them, and then what we've seen from other teams that they could probably copy and try and emulate on the Saturday we play them.

Q. Is there such a thing as watching too much film on somebody, do you think?
DaeSEAN HAMILTON: I don't think it's watching too much film. Might be watching the wrong things on film. Really matters what you're looking at rather than just watching maybe just segments of each play.

You've got to really like put yourself in that player's shoes or put yourself in that situation of what play you could be calling in that situation the defense is giving you and things like that. I don't think you can watch too much film. I think you can watch film the wrong way, if that makes sense.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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