KeAndre Lambert-Smith, eying opportunity, taking next step
KeAndre Lambert-Smith has long understood his significance to Penn State’s potential this season. Entering his third season, with Jahan Dotson off to the NFL, the time for the receiver to shine is now.
And with a second year to work with Nittany Lion offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, that opportunity has very much presented itself. Finding a new level of comfort, both with Penn State’s offense and quarterback Sean Clifford, the dividends presented themselves to Lambert-Smith early and often in the past eight months.
“I’m just comfortable. I’m way more comfortable,” Lambert-Smith told reporters this spring. “It’s year two in the same playbook. So I’m not out there thinking too much. I’m out there playing fast, making plays. So I’m just excited to do it on Saturdays and show everybody what I can do.”
KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s contributions
Soon, Lambert-Smith will have that opportunity.
Set to travel to take on Purdue to open the season on Sept. 1, the countdown is only 16 days. And in an August camp that has seen Penn State’s top three receiving targets solidify themselves further as a likely starting trio, the dynamics of the group have emerged.
Owning a first-hand vantage point as Penn State’s corners coach, Terry Smith said as much at the program’s preseason media day earlier this month. Balancing a pair of veteran possession receivers in transfer Mitchell Tinsley and junior Parker Washington, Lambert-Smith brings a different element to the field for the Nittany Lions.
“When you talk Tinsley and Parker, you talk consistency. They’re guys that are gonna catch the ball, get open, and run good routes. They’re physically tough, they can run,” Smith said. “With KeAndre, you’re talking about a guy who has elite speed and athleticism. And you see it on the field.
“He’s going to be a guy that can vertically stretch the defense. He seems to have taken another step in his game and so we’re just looking forward to him just being a consistent contributor every snap.”
Next steps
For Lambert-Smith, that consistency has been elusive through his first two seasons as a Nittany Lion.
Stepping into mixed results as a true freshman during the COVID-amended 2020 season, Lambert-Smith became Penn State’s clear No. 3 receiver last year. In 13 games, he finished with 34 catches for 521 yards and three scores.
But it was the nature of those performances, highlighted by three-or-more receptions in five of Penn State’s first eight games, that led to confounding inconsistencies. Stymied through the season’s end, notching just six catches for 64 yards over the final three games of the regular season, Lambert-Smith bounced back with a 74-yard, one-touchdown performance on three catches in the bowl to send him into the offseason.
Emboldened by the performance, and the offseason confidence of his coaches, teammates, and even Dotson, the time since has been spent on making improvements. Working to glean as much usable information as possible at the position, it’s the next step Lambert-Smith continues to build toward.
“I definitely feel like this is one of those years, with ‘Han leaving. I feel like my role has increased and I’m just ready to make plays for the team,” Lambert-Smith said. “(We’re) building the chemistry with the offense, Sean and, we’re ready to make plays.”
