Penn State receiver commitment run sets foundation for 'dynasty' position room KeAndre Lambert-Smith desires
Penn State is in the midst of a hot June recruiting run. The Nittany Lions have now landed six players in the calendar’s sixth month. The most recent three were receivers, as the program picked up four-star Philadelphia native Tyseer Denmark on Wednesday and three-star Peter Gonzalez (from Pittsburgh) and four-star Josiah Brown (from New York) on Friday.
It marks a winning trifecta for first-year receivers coach Marques Hagans, who landed his first three commitments since joining the Nittany Lions in the process. But, it also replenishes the talent in his position room. And, this year’s expected leader of it, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, played a role.
Speaking on Thursday following Penn State’s 20th annual Lift for Life event, ‘KLS’ reflected on his time as a recruiter. Admitting at first that he did not previously pay much attention to the prospects at his position who were in town, he went on to say that his approach has changed after hosting recruits for official visits last weekend and during this one.
“I didn’t really pay attention to [receiver recruits who were visiting],” Lambert-Smith said. “I’m not going to lie. But last week, I hosted, and I think I’m hosting again this weekend. And, I do realize how important it is. Because, those are the same young guys that you want to carry on the legacy that you leave in the room. And, I’m starting to realize that I want the Penn State receiver room to be a dynasty. And, I know it don’t happen off of one year or two years.”
Lambert-Smith wants Penn State receivers room to thrive
This could be Lambert-Smith’s last season at Penn State. Head coach James Franklin expects him to be one of the best receivers in the Big Ten and country.
Past consistency issues must be cleaned up for that to happen. But, the talent, including a recently-clocked low 4.3-second 40-yard-dash, is there. It could turn the Virginia native into a Day 2 or even Day 1 NFL Draft pick next year if everthing comes together. And, if so, he wants to ensure he did all that he could to help the Lions bring in more talent that could one day reach that level in the future.
“We just got a commit [Tyseer Denmark], and I’m telling him like, ‘Yo we need you in the room, we need all the young guys, you need to try to get [others], just so; I want Penn State to be looked at as [Ohio State] and all of that, like, man we got guys, we got talent here just like they do everywhere else in the country,” Lambert-Smith said.
“And I want that to be showcased. I want it to be brought into the light, and I know we need them guys brought in. So, I definitely put more effort into it.”
Effort has been a consistent word used by Lambert-Smith this offseason. He’s used it to describe his increased work on the field, off of it, and now, in recruitig. It could lead to his best season yet. And, it could help Penn State add more high-level players down the road, too.
So far, it’s working out quite well for the junior and the Nittany Lions.
