PASADENA, CA (WTKR)- Dyrri McCain sat in the Rose Bowl watching KeAndre Lambert-Smith's moment. Sure, he was used to seeing the former Maury star make big plays, but that didn't mean he wasn't fired up.
"I lost my voice, just kind of yelling of excitement," McCain told News 3 from Pasadena on Tuesday. "He's just been built for that stage to be able to close out games and to do that and it be history, longest reception touchdown in the Rose Bowl, there's no amount you can put on that."
Lambert-Smith is a 2020 graduate of Maury High School and just wrapped up his sophomore season at Penn State. During the Nittany Lions' 35-21 victory over Utah in Monday's Rose Bowl, the wide receiver pulled in a pass from quarterback Sean Clifford and took off, completing an 88-yard scoring play. The 88-yard touchdown marked the longest passing score in the history of the Rose Bowl.
"That was nothing new," the head Commodore pointed out. "I know he wasn't nervous and he showed us that last night."
Lambert-Smith finished Monday night with three receptions, a career-high 124 yards and the score. He appeared in all 13 games for the Nittany Lions this season, pulling in 24 catches for 389 yards and four touchdowns. During Penn State's final regular season game against Michigan State, the former Commodore threw a touchdown pass while adding a receiving score.
While at Maury, Lambert-Smith helped lead the Commodores to the 2019 Class 5 state championship. He earned state and region offensive player of the year honors during his senior season and that state title run, finishing with 1,635 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns.
The receiver is one of a handful of Maury products to excel at the next level. McCain says that having guys like Lambert-Smith performing on the big stage is valuable for his current group of Commodores to see.
"Guys that come from where he's from did the same offseason training, the same weight room, the same conditioning, the same coaching," the head coach noted. "He always comes back to work out at the school when he's back home so he's always working so the guys see that he's going to continue to put in the work in his own time."
Several former Commodores excelled at the Division I level in 2022. C.J. Beasley was Coastal Carolina's top running back, Darian Varner was an All-AAC defensive lineman at Temple, Sheridan Jones tallied 27 tackles as a cornerback for Clemson and Dashaun Peele picked up one sack, one interception and three tackles for loss in limited action at Navy. Maury senior Peyton Jones is beginning his collegiate career at Duke this spring.
Former Norview standout Kaytron Allen also had a big day at the Rose Bowl, scoring a rushing touchdown for Penn State. Allen played his freshman season for the Pilots before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida.
