CeeDee Lamb

Early life

Lamb was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, and lived in New Orleans until he and his family evacuated to Houston, Texas, following Hurricane Katrina's effects on the city in 2005. He began playing football in the 4th grade, and when a coach asked him his name and couldn't pronounce it during drills, he began calling him by the nickname "CeeDee" and it stuck. Lamb attended John and Randolph Foster High School in Richmond, Texas, where he played high school football. As a junior, he caught 57 receptions for 1,082 yards and 11 touchdowns.

As a senior, Lamb had 98 receptions for 2,032 yards (fourth in state history), 33 receiving touchdowns (tied for second in state history) and three punt returns for touchdowns. Lamb, with quarterback Alex Ramart, led the team to a 14–1 overall record, with the only loss coming to Temple High School in the 5A-D1 state semifinals. Lamb received All-State, Houston Touchdown Club's Offensive Player of the Year and the Houston Chronicle's All-Greater Houston Football Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Lamb was rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com, Rivals.com and ESPN, and had offers from the University of Alabama and University of Texas. He committed to the University of Oklahoma on July 25, 2016.

College career

As a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2017, Lamb caught passes from quarterback Baker Mayfield, who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy. Lamb played in all 14 games, posting 46 receptions (tied for second for freshman) for 807 yards (school freshman record) and seven touchdowns (tied the school freshman record). He set school freshman single-game records with nine receptions for 147 yards and tied the school freshman single-game mark with two touchdown receptions against Texas Tech. He received freshman All-American honors by ESPN.

As a sophomore in 2018, Lamb's starting quarterback was Kyler Murray, who would also go on to win the Heisman Trophy. Lamb was a key contributor in the Sooners 12–2 record and playoff appearance. He played in all 14 games with 13 starts, catching 65 passes for 1,158 yards and 11 touchdowns (led the team). Lamb was also the team's punt returner, registering 17 returns for 218 yards and a 12.8-yard average (second in the Big 12). Lamb recorded five 100-yard receiving games and he and Marquise Brown became the first wide receiver tandem in school history to record 1,000-yard receiving seasons in the same year. He established a career-high with 167 receiving yards on six receptions and scored one touchdown in the Big 12 Championship 39–27 win against #9 Texas. Lamb had a career-high eight receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown against the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the 2018 Orange Bowl.

As a junior in 2019, Lamb caught passes from quarterback Jalen Hurts, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was named a first-team All-American, after catching 62 passes for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lamb's 21.4 yards average per reception, was the most ever in a single season by an OU player with at least 50 receptions. He was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for outstanding college football receiver. Lamb was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championship, after collecting 173 yards on eight receptions (including a 71-yarder that set up the team's first touchdown) in a 30–23 victory over #7 Baylor. He had four receptions for 119 yards (including a 51-yarder) in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2019 Peach Bowl in a 63–28 loss to #1 Louisiana State University. On December 29, Lamb announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2020 NFL draft.