Aug. 20, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" A good game ball is a quarterback's best friend.
When he finds one he likes, he usually sticks with it for an entire season.
With 2015 practice well underway, the Nittany Lions have been putting a newly designed game ball through its paces. With a new broad design, similar to an NFL game ball, junior Christian Hackenberg and the Nittany Lion receivers enjoy Nike's new design for 2015.
"I enjoy throwing the new ball, a little bit rounder ball," said Hackenberg. "It's got great grip, a little better throwing ball. It's got a little different texture to it. The laces are the same from last year. Last year's ball had textured laces. On the new ball, the stripe is just painted on."
Wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton, who led the Big Ten with 82 receptions last season, said the old ball was a bit difficult to catch in wet conditions. He's a fan of the new game ball, but he lets the QB make the decision as to which balls are used during the game.
"He's very particular about which balls we use during a game," Hamilton said. "He picks two or three out for a game and those are the only balls we use."
On the first day the team used the new game balls, not everyone was on board with the new design.
"You should ask Saeed (Blacknall) about it. He was a little skeptical," joked Hackenberg.
"The old ball was narrow and a little more pointy on the ends. The new ball is a little thicker in the middle and wider, but now that we have been playing with it more, I like it more," said Blacknall.
With longer practices during training camp, new game balls are in game shape in no time.
"You can break a ball in in like three days," Hackenberg said. "We'll break them in and then start rotating balls into the rotation for routes on air and one-on-ones. The sweat gets on them. They bounce around. And they break in well."
The Nittany Lions held practice No. 16 on Thursday. The Big Ten Network is slated to be in town on Friday during the morning practice.