STATE COLLEGE — It started out easy. It hasn’t always been that way for DaeSean Hamilton.

When he leaped to grab that pass from quarterback Trace McSorley in the fourth quarter Saturday, Penn State’s senior receiver preferred that everybody remembered those facts.

With a sterling nine-catch, 122-yard, three-touchdown performance in the No. 4 Nittany Lions’ 45-14 win over Indiana at Beaver Stadium, Hamilton set Penn State’s career record for receptions, pushing himself past Deon Butler’s 180, to 183 and on the way to setting a standard comfortably beyond any receiver in program history.

“It’s really special. I’m really lucky to have this record,” Hamilton smiled. “It seems like I’ve taken forever to get here.”

The success he saw Saturday, though? He hasn’t always been able to make it stick.

After hauling in a Big Ten-best 82 catches as a redshirt freshman in 2014, earning second-team All-American honors in the process, Hamilton had difficulty establishing himself as a top target the next two seasons. In 2015 and 2016 combined, he had just 79 grabs.

In 2016, he battled issues with drops, which especially haunted him in the 42-39 loss to Pitt that September, when he bobbled a potential game-winning touchdown pass on Penn State’s ill-fated final drive at sticky Heinz Field.

Still, that didn’t temper the coaching staff’s enthusiasm for what he could do in his senior season.

“I think he is a great example for our younger players. I think he is a great example, in general,” head coach James Franklin said. “One year, he leads the Big Ten in catches. The next year, his numbers go way down. But, he stayed positive. He just kept working.”

McSorley praised Hamilton for his leadership, as well, calling him one of the best on the team.

Saturday, he was also one of the most clutch, which didn’t seem to change his mindset much.

“He sets the record, and he’s looking over to the sideline to get the next play in,” McSorley said. “I think that’s one of the coolest things about this. He’s looking over to the sideline for the next call. Because, really, that was all he was looking forward to.”

Hamilton said he was grateful to break the record so early in the season, mostly because he didn’t want to have to hear about it anymore as the season progressed. He has bigger things to worry about, he laughed.

For Franklin, the significance of getting the job done at any point was clear.

“Whenever you can say that you’re the all-time leader at Penn State, that’s pretty special,” Franklin said. “I’m not even the all-time leader at East Stroudsburg in anything anymore, and this guy is an all-time leader at Penn State. It’s really impressive.”