KJ Hamler checked the mail every day for nearly a month this summer hoping he would find the package. It was taking forever to arrive, and Penn State's newest weapon -- known for getting from one place to another in a hurry -- will admit he is not a patient man.

Hamler tore into the cardboard box when it did finally show up on his doorstep. He couldn't wait to get it around his neck. The 14-karat gold chain matched the chains his roommates -- a group of rising stars taking center stage for the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions this season -- had ordered with cubic zirconia pendants laid out in the shape of their jersey numbers.

He and running back Miles Sanders wear their chains around campus more often than not. They don't come off their necks on game day until the end of warm-ups -- just a little flair before strapping into college football's most proudly plain fashion statement that is Penn State's uniform.

"It was exciting just to see all of us blinged out," Hamler said. "I love the tradition here with basic blues and the all black cleats, but with our style of football, we've got to bring a little bit of swag."

Sanders and Hamler consider themselves the "new faces" of a Penn State offense that has through four games this season been historically potent. The nation's top scoring unit (55.5 points per game) has a veteran quarterback as its leader, its strongest offensive line in at least a decade and a solid surrounding cast. The charmingly gumptious new pair of playmakers, though, have taken things to another level in 2018.

KJ Hamler won a starting position as a slot receiver in camp this summer. Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

They are the shiny accent piece on an offense equipped with the traditional pillars of success that make Saturday night's home game against No. 4 Ohio State -- the second most productive offense in the country -- appointment viewing (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC). They give a Nittany Lions offense that was supposed to take a step backward this season the torque it needs to leave lesser opponents in the dust and to turn Happy Valley's Top 10 showdown this weekend into a competitive race for Big Ten supremacy.

While waiting for their moment to arrive has been difficult, Sanders and Hamler are finding now that it was worth it. Hamler, a redshirt freshman, won a starting position as a slot receiver a couple of weeks into training camp in August. Sanders, one year ahead of him with two years of limited playing experience, talked to Hamler at their shared home on the night Hamler landed at the top of the depth chart. Sanders told Hamler this was officially and finally their time to take center stage.

"We've got some big shoes to fill," Sanders said. "Let's make them bigger."

Sanders came to Penn State as a five-star prospect who could have stepped onto many Division I football fields and won a starting job in his first week of practice. Instead, he spent his first two years at Penn State trying to bust through the long and impressive shadow of Saquon Barkley, an All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist. Barkley was a friend and a mentor for Sanders, but Barkley's wide array of talents left little room for the new guy to get touches on offense. Waiting for opportunity wore on Sanders eventually.

"Not to the point where my attitude was bad, but it definitely wasn't easy," Sanders said. "When you're expecting to play and you don't play that much, it's frustrating."

He found a kindred sufferer in Hamler. The undersized speedster moved from Pontiac, Michigan, to Florida as a high school senior to play at the IMG Academy, which has become a well-appointed waiting room for the college football stars of tomorrow. Before his first game at IMG, Hamler tore his ACL.

Penn State opted to be conservative with his recovery process and not play him as a true freshman. While Sanders was scrapping for carries, Hamler was watching two consecutive years of football from the sideline and wondering if he was going to have the same tackle-slipping, whiplash-inducing agility he used to have.

"Not knowing, I think that was the biggest thing," said Latonya Gooding, Hamler's mother and sounding board for his doubts and frustration. "Was he going to be back to 100 percent? Was he going to be the same little, jittery, human joystick as before?"

Hamler broke through the scar tissue in his surgically repaired knee during spring practice. Penn State's training staff called his parents concerned about the swelling it created, but Hamler's surgeon said this was a good thing. Mobility was right around the corner. Before long, he was buzzing around the field and making defenders look silly.

Only one new topic garnered more attention outside the locker room than Hamler's rise this past spring, and that was the uncertainty of how Penn State's offense would make up for all that it had lost. Barkley was gone, the second overall pick in the NFL draft. So were record-breaking wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton, all-conference tight end Mike Gesicki and Joe Moorhead, the innovative offensive coordinator who played a big role in breathing new life into the program.

Hamler and Sanders heard the talking points. Despite good recruiting and a standout veteran quarterback in Trace McSorley, it was easy to believe there would be at least a momentary learning curve for the team that had averaged more than 40 points and 450 yards per game in 2017. Their response when talking to each other about that understandable doubt from outsiders this summer was one that both had grown accustomed to hearing over the past couple of years: Just wait.

Miles Sanders was a five-star prospect who had to wait for his opportunity. Michael Hickey/Getty Images

This past offseason, they bonded over their shared eagerness despite some differences in personality. Sanders' teammates describe him as understated and laid back. Hamler considers Bugs Bunny a personal hero and lives his life with the same wise-cracking, fast-talking attitude. Hamler gleefully shares the rap videos that his parents made for his birthday -- evidence that his gregarious spirit is likely genetic -- that would have sent most teenagers cowering in embarrassment.

With bedroom doors right next to each other, Hamler and Sanders started and ended their days together. In between, they worked and reminded each other that the long wait was about to be over.

"Me and Miles just needed our opportunity," Hamler said. "Once we got our shot, we knew we would take advantage of it. It looks like that's what we're doing right now."

Hamler needed less than a game to make an impact. He didn't smile or laugh during the first half of Penn State's season opener against Appalachian State. It was perhaps his longest stretch without making a joke since coming to campus, conspicuous enough for head coach James Franklin to ask what was wrong at halftime.

"I'm trying to be serious, coach. This is game day," Hamler told him in the locker room.

"I want you to play exactly how you act in practice," Franklin told him.

Hamler let loose in the fourth quarter. He returned a kick he wasn't supposed to return but took it 52 yards to set up a last-minute, game-tying drive that saved the season from derailing before it really even got started. He finished the drive himself, hauling a 15-yard strike from McSorley in the end zone. His roommate ran the ball four straight times in overtime for a score, and the Nittany Lions hung on to win.

Sanders is averaging 6.97 yards per carry through four games and already has carried the ball more than in his first two seasons combined. He reached new heights last week with three touchdowns and his first 200-yard rushing performance, fully stepping out from the shadow of that guy who came before him.

After the game, Sanders and Hamler slipped almost identical gold chains over their heads and around their necks before boarding the team bus. They turned their attention to the undefeated Ohio State team coming to town eight days later. The big stage was approaching fast. There was no more time to wait.