DaeSean Hamilton didn’t need to see any more schools.
Before even leaving Penn State’s campus, which the three-star wide receiver toured for his official visit this past weekend, Hamilton decided he wanted to commit to the Nittany Lions’ program.
The highly-touted Virginia native, who stands at 6-foot, 182 pounds, is listed as the 38th best receiver in the 2013 class, according to recruiting website Rivals.com. Despite being heavily recruited by schools such as Virginia Tech and Virginia, Hamilton’s Mountain View high school coach, Lou Sorrentino, said the receiver called him this weekend to say he had verbally committed to Penn State.
Hamilton’s announcement came on the heels of three other verbal commitments to the Nittany Lions’ program this past weekend, when many recruits came to Happy Valley for official visits.
Sorrentino, who referred to Hamilton as a “high school coach’s dream,” said he was surprised to hear his player’s commitment come this early, especially with so many offers — 12 to be exact — on the table.
The coach said Hamilton has been a four-year starter, most recently on both sides of the ball, as he also excelled as a defensive back for Sorrentino’s squad. However, his most dominant position has been receiver, where the coach said he tallied almost 170 career catches at Mountain View.
Hamilton’s 40-yard dash speed of 4.57 is not mind-boggling, but Sorrentino said it’s the awareness he possesses that sets him apart.
“He’s a nice blend of a lot of different things,” Sorrentino said. “He’s not 6-foot-4, but he’s 6-foot-1 or so. He’s not a 4.3 [40-yard dash] runner, but he can run…He has great ball skills, great body control, and he’s very smart.”
Yet, Sorrentino said Hamilton’s best characteristics might even appear off the field, where his charisma and 4.1 GPA led the coach to compare him to a former Penn State receiver, Deon Butler.
Sorrentino coached Butler, who set several receiving records at Penn State before graduating in 2009, at C.D. Hylton high school in Virginia and said the two receivers have many similarities.
“[They are] great kids, pretty humble guys, neat to be around,” Sorrentino said. “DaeSean is bigger than Deon was and Deon probably is faster. But, as a type of person, they’re just such likable guys.”
Meanwhile, the addition of Hamilton to Penn State’s incoming class brings the group’s total to 17 commits. Being able to woo the talented receiver from major ACC in-state programs and the likes of Michigan State would appear a good sign for the Lions’ program, showing it can still recruit alongside some of the top-tier programs in the country.
Sorrentino said he thinks the coaching staff did a great job of not only recruiting Hamilton, but also appealing to his parents, who are both former members of the armed services.
“[DaeSean] knows that Penn State is a great school,” Sorrentino said. “So he felt a lot of respect for the coaching staff and I think especially the parents hit it off with coach [Bill] O’Brien.”
