Ranking KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s top performances at Penn State

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Top ten: The best performances from KeAndre Lambert-Smith's Penn State career

Auburn football landed its top transfer of the 2024 cycle last month when former Penn State wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith from the transfer portal.

Auburn had already received praise for its recruiting efforts of high school receivers Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, Bryce Cain, and Malcolm Simmons, but bringing in another experienced receiver to mesh with the newcomers, plus Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis, should boost Auburn’s production in the passing game to a new level.

Just how special is Lambert-Smith? To find the answer, we broke down his top-10 games during his time at Penn State from 2020-23 based on yards and grades from Pro Football Focus. Here’s a look back at Lambert-Smith’s top collegiate games heading into the 2024 season.

10
Sept. 4, 2021 at Wisconsin

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  • Catches: 4
  • Yards: 71
  • Touchdowns: 0
  • PFF grade: 59.4

Lambert-Smith opened the 2021 campaign by hauling in four of five targets for 71 yards in the Nittany Lions 16-10 win over Wisconsin in Madison. He had one drop in the game and two of his catches resulted in first downs.

9
Jan. 1, 2022 vs. Arkansas

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  • Catches: 3
  • Yards: 74
  • Touchdowns: 1
  • PFF grade: 62.7

Lambert-Smith was Penn State’s second-leading receiver behind Parker Washington in Penn State’s Outback Bowl loss to Arkansas to close the 2021 season. He caught three of seven targeted passes and had a long of 42 yards, which resulted in a touchdown.

8
Sept. 9, 2023 vs. Delaware

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  • Catches: 6
  • Yards: 74
  • Touchdowns: 0
  • PFF grade: 76.4

Lambert-Smith was perfect in Penn State’s 63-7 win over Delaware last September. He caught all six passes thrown his way for a 12.3 yard per catch average. His longest reception was 19 yards and five of his catches resulted in first downs for Penn State.

7
Nov. 26, 2022 vs. Michigan State

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  • Catches: 5
  • Yards: 83
  • Touchdowns: 1
  • PFF grade: 88.3

Penn State’s game with Michigan State in 2022 would result in Lambert-Smith’s highest grade from PFF. All five targets resulted in catches with a long of 35 yards, with every catch resulting in a first down. He also hauled in his lone “contested catch” and added 12 yards to Penn State’s total output after catch.

His new quarterback, Payton Thorne, passed for 229 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-43 completed passes. His performance did not result in a win, however, as Penn State walked away with a 35-16 win over the Spartans in the rivalry game.

6
Sept. 30, 2023 at Northwestern

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  • Catches: 4
  • Yards: 86
  • Touchdowns: 0
  • PFF grade: 71.2

Lambert-Smith enjoyed plenty of success in 2023. Following his Sept. 9 performance against Delaware, Lambert-Smith by leading the team with 86 yards on four catches. He failed to drop a pass in the game, and caught four of his eight targets.

5
Sept. 25, 2021 vs. Villanova

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  • Catches: 2
  • Yards: 88
  • Touchdowns: 1
  • PFF grade: 63.2

Lambert-Smith got his feet wet during his freshman campaign in 2020, but truly burst onto the scene during the 2021 game vs. Villanova. He scored his first career touchdown in this game and recorded a season-best 88 yards.

He could have had a bigger day, but he caught just 40% of his passes (2-for-5) with a drop and a target resulting in an interception.

4
Nov. 4, 2023 at Maryland

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  • Catches: 8
  • Yards: 95
  • Touchdowns: 0
  • PFF grade: 77.5

Lambert-Smith’s performance against Michigan State resulted in his highest single-game PFF grade. His performance against Maryland last season resulted in his best game by reception standards. He caught 8-of-12 targets with an impressive 68 yards added after catch. He forced five missed tackles and five of his catches resulted in first downs.

3
Oct. 28, 2023 vs. Indiana

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  • Catches: 6
  • Yards: 96
  • Touchdowns: 1
  • PFF grade: 67.0

Lambert-Smith nearly produced mirroring numbers in back-to-back weeks during the 2023 season. A week before his eight catch, 95 yard outing at Maryland, he reeled in six catches for 96 yards in a win over Indiana. He added 31 yards after catch and had a long of 57 yards. The aspect that seperates this performance from the Maryland game is that he scored a touchdown in his game, opposed to the game at Maryland.

2
Sept. 2, 2023 vs. West Virginia

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  • Catches: 4
  • Yards: 123
  • Touchdowns: 2
  • PFF grade: 78.0

Lambert-Smith set the tone of the 2023 season with his performance against West Virginia. He reached 100 yards for the second time in his career by hauling in four of six targeted passes and a career-best two touchdowns. It is hard to argue that the West Virginia game in 2023 is his best collegiate performance, but there is one more game that takes the cake.

1
Jan. 1, 2023 vs. Utah

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  • Catches: 3
  • Yards: 124
  • Touchdowns: 1
  • PFF grade: 69.6

The best game of Lambert-Smith’s career to this point was his three catch, 124 yard performance in Penn State’s Rose Bowl win over Utah to end the 2022 season. A majority of his yards came on an 88-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifton to put the Nittany Lions ahead 28-14 in the 4th quarter.

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