Tag: KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Top 21 players for the Nittany Lions entering 2021

Penn State football returns soon. Who are the key players to watch for the Nittany Lions in 2021?

Penn State enters the 2021 college football season with a bit of a chip on their shoulders. Following a rare losing season played during a pandemic, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are eager to prove they are better than their 2020 record would indicate. With a challenging schedule right out of the gate, Penn State will have plenty of opportunities to prove itself to the masses this fall.

And they will do so with enough talent on the roster to make some things happen. With experience at quarterback, one of the top wide receivers in the Big Ten, and one of the nation’s top defensive secondaries to rely on, there are a lot of good ingredients for a successful season in Happy Valley. Every position has a chance to play a key role in the fortunes of Penn State this season too.

Here is a look at 21 key players Penn State has on the roster in 2021, listed in no particular order.

2021 Penn State depth chart projection: Wide receiver

After Jahan Dotson, what does Penn State have to offer at the wide receiver position in 2021? Projecting the depth chart…

It won’t take long to predict who the starting wide receivers will be in 2021 for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State’s top three wide receivers from a year ago are back and figure to lock down the starting roles at the various receiver positions once again in 2021.

Among those leading receivers returning is Jahan Dotson. Dotson was the Big Ten’s leading receiver in 2020 with 884 receiving yards in nine games. Dotson also tied for the Big Ten lead in touchdown receptions (eight) with Purdue’s David Bell. Dotson is still sitting behind a handful of very talented wide receivers around the Big Ten on the national radar, perhaps because he benefitted from his Big Ten-leading stats by playing in more games than most other receivers around the conference. But Dotson is no player you want to overlook.

The 2020 season also saw the rise of Parker Washington as the team’s second-leading receiver. Washington is expected to be the second receiving option once again this fall, with KeAndre Lambert-Smith the most likely candidate to be the third starting receiver on the field for the Nittany Lions.

Finding playmakers has been a goal for the Penn State staff this offseason. Marquis Wilson has been given the opportunity to make some plays on offense, a luxury Penn State has the option of playing with considering the depth in the defensive secondary.

Here’s what the depth chart at wide receiver may look like for the Penn State offense this fall.

5 questions for Penn State at Big Ten media day

5 questions Penn State will be asked during Big Ten media day

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The summer convergence of Big Ten media, coaches, and players will take place this week in Chicago. As they arrive in the Windy City from Happy Valley, Penn State head coach James Franklin and his player representatives will have some tough questions to answer after last season.

Penn State limped out of the gates of the modified 2020 season to a historically bad 0-5 record before turning a corner and ending the season on a four-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions missed an opportunity to even their record and avoid a losing season by deciding as a team not to participate in a postseason bowl game at the end of a trying year. But perhaps the biggest question for Penn State to answer in 2021 was whether or not you can chalk up the 2020 season to being a product of unique circumstances or if it is a sign of a program on the decline.

So what are we to actually make of 2020?

Head coach James Franklin will be very likely to be asked some questions riding along the lines of wondering how Penn State bounces back in 2021 after last year’s setbacks. You can fully expect Franklin to push forward and leave 2020 behind him, but it is an important question to raise for anyone trying to figure out who Penn State is in 2021.

Prior to last season, Penn State had won 11 games three out of the previous four seasons with three appearances in a New Years Six bowl game and winning two of them. This is why the 2020 results were so surprising for many. Injuries and player availability throughout the week were issues as well, as Penn State at times may have been riding a thinner roster than realized at times due to COVID protocols.

So when Franklin is asked about last season and what to expect this season, expect the standard response that Penn State has a lot going right in the program and they are ready to prove something after last season.

Will Penn State still add a transfer quarterback?

As things stand right now, Penn State’s offense is Sean Clifford or bust, or so it would seem. One of the main talking points during the spring football practice season was what Penn State will do to add depth and exp[erience at the quarterback position. Pulling a target from the transfer portal seemed obvious, and Penn State did make a push to add to its roster at the position before ultimately losing out on TJ Finley from LSU. Spring has now come and gone and the summer is half over and Penn State still has not found a suitable passer in the transfer portal to pad the depth chart.

When will Penn State grab a QB out of the transfer portal?

So, is this still part of the game plan, or is Penn State now going to move forward running the risk of not having experience behind Clifford? The ceiling may be pretty high for options like Taquan Roberson and Christian Veilleux, but Franklin made it seem pretty clear he’d much prefer to have a more experienced option available should he need it this fall.

NEXT: What is the confidence level of the defensive line?

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2021 Penn State Nittany Lions Profile Card: Keandre Lambert-Smith

Will Keandre Lambert-Smith take some big steps forward to contribute to Penn State’s offense in 2021?

Name: Keandre Lambert-Smith

Number: 13

Position: Wide receiver

Class: Sophomore

Height: 6′-1″

Weight: 181

Hometown: Norfolk, VA

High School: Maury

Twitter: @klamb2_

Overview

If Penn State is hoping to see some players step up at the receiver position to take some of the pressure of Jahan Dotson, perhaps Keandre Lambert-Smith could be a name to keep a close eye on. A four-star recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2020, Lambert-Smith got a chance to dip his toes in the waters as a true freshman last fall by appearing in all nine games played by Penn State.

The talented freshman caught two passes for a total of 25 yards in his Penn State debut (against Indiana). He also started one game, against Maryland, along with Parker Washington. The freshmen became the first freshman receiving duo to start a game for Penn State since 2014 (Chris Godwin and Saeed Blacknall).

Lambert-Smith is searching for his first career touchdown as well as a more pivotal role in the Penn State offense. Coming off a full offseason after a full season under his belt, Lambert-Smith should be among the players who take some significant steps forward in the Penn State offense in 2021.

Lambert-Smith may have to prove he has earned more of a role in the Penn State passing game before getting his opportunity to shine more. Dotson is among the Big Ten’s top receivers returning in 2021 and Washington was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2020 with 489 yards on 36 receptions.

But the potential for a breakout season is right there for Lambert-Smith, and his development could make for a lethal passing attack for the Nittany Lions if he can work his way into the game plan more in 2021.

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Penn State football spring cleaning: 5 things the Nittany Lions need to address now for success in 2021

Penn State hopes to wrap up spring football feeling good about the 2021 season but what work could need to be done heading into the summer?

Penn State is in the midst of its spring football practices. A year after not having a chance to go through a typical spring, James Franklin and his Nittany Lions are embracing the opportunity to put in the work to potentially lead to a much stronger start to the 2021 season after last year’s dismal beginning.

After a stretch of three 11-win seasons in four years, highlighted by victories in the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl, Penn State’s national image took a bit of a bruising after a 4-5 2020 season. Despite lowered expectations on the national radar, there are some good reasons to be optimistic about what Penn State can accomplish in the fall despite having a challenging schedule on its hands.

A new offensive coordinator in Mike Yurcich combined with a third-year starting quarterback figures to put Penn State in a good spot for a solid start on offense. This is especially true with the emergence of one of the Big Ten’s top wide receivers in Jahan Dotson. But now is as good a time as any for Penn State to clean things up a little bit around the roster.

Here are a few things on the spring cleaning to-do list for the Nittany Lions that must be addressed if Penn State is going to be in the mix for a Big Ten championship in the fall.