Lamb Ready for Big Expectations
Following a prodigious senior season that ended with a run to the Texas state semi-finals and a video game stat line of 98-receptions for 2032-yards and 33 touchdowns it's safe to say that anticipation of Cedarian Lamb's arrival in Norman has been feverish.
The talented pass-catcher is now in Norman and has already drawn strong reviews from his quarterback for the 2017 season.
And with all of the accolades coming in it would have been easy to think that Lamb might expect to just show up and get to work. However, he was clear - before his arrival - that since National Signing Day he'd been sticking to a strict workout regiment and had even made some dietary changes to help prepare him to work with Baker Mayfield and co.
"Things have been good, just laying low, getting in the weight room and putting up as much weight as I can. That’s about it," Lamb said in early June.
"I've just been working out this spring, I didn’t do any extra curricular activities. I’ve been working on speed and strength, and the ability to jump, and my hips. Just working on the low points of my game to work on them and get them better.
"I’m doing more workouts, more running – double the things I was doing before. I’m basically doing two-a-days, and I’m back on protein. Before my Sr. year I’d never had protein but the end of my senior year I’m drinking protein, just to get some weight before I get to Norman."
That driving desire to improve was reaffirmed when he went to Norman for Oklahoma's Red-White game on April 8. However, it wasn't just Mayfield that caught Lamb's eye; like many he was wowed by redshirt sophomore Kyler Murray.
"Oh my gosh, that was my first time seeing (Murray) with my own eyes," he said. "Baker, there is no surprise with Baker – there is no surprise with him, he’s just Baker. When I go up there we may try and throw some routes, we actually tried when he came down to Houston but he was busy."
With all of that focus on preparing for Norman, was there any time for life to settle back down after National Signing Day and enjoy life as a normal high school senior?
"It was a great experience my senior year – enjoy my high school experienced because I only get one of those," Lamb admitted.
"From when recruiting started to now, things were just kind of, it was bittersweet. Being in the recruiting process was sweet but talking to schools and trying to figure out which one was the best for me – that’s the stressful part.
"Me doing what I did, and enjoying my high school experience and going wherever we did – which was the fifth round of the playoffs. I didn’t have to worry about it, I just got it all out of the way and it kind of went smooth basically but it was still stressful."
And one particular moment made it easier for Lamb to enjoy his time just being a high school senior.
"Prom itself was hilarious, things you wouldn’t normally see, you’d see. I saw all kinds of different things, I pulled up in a Maserati – I had to drive something expensive. My friends had a competition, one had a Mercedes, another had a Rolls, one had a Lamborghini – our parents weren’t that happy," he laughed.
Lamb talks, at some length, about his enjoyment of his senior year and how much he liked just having the pressure off of him. That being said he admits the decision to commit early to Oklahoma, even with a hiccup in the middle, made his life much easier and is something he was still happy about in spite of how much it deviated from many high school prospects.
"I’m extremely happy with the decision to commit. I committed December 10, 2015 and I’m still happy," he said.
A big part of that happiness is connected to his bond with outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons as well as the still-growing connection between himself and the entirety of the 2017 recruiting class.
"(Coach Simmons and I), our relationship is just getting stronger. If he tells me to do something I’m up and doing it. If I see something that I need to improve on, he is there. Anything I need to work on to do to get better, anything I can learn about, I can go to him for anything," Lamb relayed.
"He came by to see me twice this spring. We just went over anything I need to get done.
"With the rest of the class, we're still a family, if we need something, we hit each other up in the group message. There is nothing you can do to break that group up – that’s how strong our bond is."
In that class, it's another Rivals100 receiver, Charleston Rambo, who Lamb will be rooming with in Norman. And though the two had some of the most ridiculous statistics in the Lone Star State last year for Lamb the competition is all about improving one another.
"It’ll come across our minds every once in a while, we’ll have a conversation about it. At the end of the day we love to watch each other shine, but there isn’t any bumping heads, we’re just pushing each other to get better. (Friendly competition) that’s all it is," he said.
As mentioned, Lamb's senior season was something that few receivers in Texas high school history would dare dream of but even he admits there are times he can't believe just how far things went.
"To this day I would say, 33 touchdowns, who would think of putting up 33 touchdowns? And this is in Texas. Some games I only played the first quarter. It’s really all by the grace of God; he had a plan for me."