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Penn State Notebook: KeAndre Lambert-Smith turning a corner, plus more

Spring practice carries on for Penn State Nittany Lions football as it prepares to begin the 2021 season on the road against Wisconsin on September 4.

Penn State football wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield met with the media after practice to break down the development of Penn State's wideout room so far this spring.

Let's get into the takeaways from Stubblefield's press conference, below:

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Penn State Nittany Lions football wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith could be turning a corner.
Penn State Nittany Lions football wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith could be turning a corner.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith turning a corner 

Wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith emerged to spend much of the 2020 season as the third option at wide receiver for Penn State football as a true freshman.

Now, it sounds as though the 6-foot-1, 184-pound sophomore is making considerable leaps in the lead-up to the new season.

"He's been working hard, not just on his physical abilities, but also his mental toughness," Stubblefield said.

The way Stubblefield sees it, Lambert-Smith has learned how to keep bad plays and poor moments out of his mind, at least in the short term, where he may previously have dwelled on them.

"In golf, if you make that one bad shot, it leads to the next one, and the next one, and the next one," Stubblefield said. "We're just trying to encourage him to shut the door on making a bad play and move forward.

"He's had some moments this fall camp where he's done a tremendous job of saying, 'OK, I might not have executed the way I needed to execute, but I'm not going to let that get me down. Let's get this next play.'"

RELATED: Penn State Nittany Lions football practice quick hitters

Sean and Liam Clifford connecting 

True freshman wide receiver Liam Clifford joined his older brother and Penn State's starting quarterback, Sean, when he arrived on campus this summer.

To Stubblefield, the strength of their bond is clear already.

"You automatically think that they would have that instant connection, and they're building that," Stubblefield said. "You can see sometimes, Sean putting his arm around him to just coach him up or give him some brotherly love. Tons of respect there and it's awesome to be part of it."

Asked if there might be a possibility of Liam carving out a role for himself in his first year on campus, Stubblefield noted that he provides that opportunity to all of his first-year players.

"All my recruits know that, the current players in the room know that every day, every year, you've got to bring it," he said.

"Liam, he's got to learn a foreign language. The faster you can pick up the offense, the sooner you know what to do, and once you know what to do, then we can work on how you do it. We're still in that process of fall camp where he's learning what to do, so we can get to fine-tune how well you do it."

Lonnie White Jr.'s decision 

Stubblefield lost a member of his freshman class when Lonnie White Jr. elected to play professional baseball after he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Stubblefield expressed disappointment in not getting to coach a player who was considered an excellent prospect — given four stars by Rivals — but added that he's excited to see what White can do with a bat and glove.

"Obviously we want the best for Lonnie White," Stubblefield said. "Of course we miss him because we thought he was a heck of a football player, heck of a person. His family, they're absolutely awesome. We're fired up. I know I'm going to watch a few more baseball games and maybe look at some stats more than I normally do."

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