Drew Allar says KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Trey Potts will surprise people

Expectations are high in Happy Valley going into the 2023 season, in part because many are anticipating a big year for former five-star quarterback Drew Allar.

But Allar will need some help, too.

In a recent episode of Next Up with Adam Breneman, Allar highlighted a few players he thinks are going to surprise people come the fall. Two of them are receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and running back Trey Potts.

“Obviously people know like Dre, who KeAndre is, but he’s been putting in the extra time this offseason and we’ve been really getting on the same page,” Allar said. “Tre is going to be a really good player for us this year, too. He’s really explosive. Like his eight steps compared to a lot of different people is, he gains a lot more yardage. He’s going to be a great asset to us this year on the perimeter for us.”

Both players have some real experience, though only one of them has it in navy and white.

Lambert-Smith has been with the Nittany Lions for the past three seasons, totaling 73 catches for 1,048 yards and seven touchdowns. He hasn’t necessarily been a true go-to target yet, though, which could change in 2022.

Potts, on the other hand, is a transfer from Minnesota.

A 5-foot-9, 215-pound redshirt senior, he logged 239 carries for 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Golden Gophers. Allar thinks both players could surprise people this fall.

Drew Allar picks defensive player likely to surprise people

Not to stop on the offensive side of the ball, Allar also offered a defensive player he thinks is likely to surprise people this fall.

He turned to the secondary for that.

“Defensively, there’s so many guys out there on defense,” Allar said. “There’s so many guys on our defense, but one of the biggest names that I don’t think people talk about that much is probably KJ Winston, just because he’s a young safety.

“He really comes down and tries to take your head off and he has really good length and coverage skills and can cover a lot of ground. But our defense is so loaded that he probably doesn’t get talked about as much as he should be.”

Winston was a true freshman in 2022, making 16 tackles with one tackle for a loss.