All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. Here’s the series’ second article, profiling sophomore receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
Before Penn State: Lambert-Smith came to Penn State as a four-star recruit from Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia. As a senior, he helped his team to a 16-0 record and its first state championship in 80 years. He made the All-American Bowl as a senior and had 1,000 yards receiving during his sophomore and junior seasons. 247Sports rated him as Virginia’s second-best prospect from the class of 2020, and Lambert-Smith committed to Penn State in October 2019.
Lambert-Smith is the nephew of former Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, who was a two-time All-Pro and won a Super Bowl in eight seasons with the team.
2020: Lambert-Smith Played in all nine of Penn State’s games, starting five of them and finishing the season with 15 catches for 138 yards.
2021: Lambert-Smith became an every-week starter for Penn State, starting all 13 games as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver behind Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington.
Smith had four catches for 71 yards in Penn State’s Week 1 win at Wisconsin, highlighted by a 52-yarder in the third quarter. Three weeks later, Lambert-Smith caught an 83-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford in a win over Villanova. He ended the season with 447 yards on 31 catches and two touchdowns.
Where he stands: With Washington returning and Mitchell Tinsley transferring in from Western Kentucky, it seems likely that Lambert-Smith will stay in the No. 3 receiver role.
Even with Lambert-Smith still being the No. 3, Penn State might not have a clear No. 1 the way Dotson had been the past two seasons. Lambert-Smith could see more targets than ever in his college career if this is the case.
A quote about Lambert-Smith: Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford has worked with Lambert-Smith since 2020, and during spring practice, the sixth-year quarterback saw the third-year receiver making strides.
“Dre is just playing a lot faster and a lot cleaner,” Clifford said in April. “He’s making a lot more plays. He’s getting the ball more, obviously, with Jahan being gone. He’s just stepped up, and it’s been impressive to watch. I’m really excited for Dre moving forward.
