Sometimes it’s just impossible to ignore the logic of Dan Caruso.
Such as, “It’s pretty hard to be named Jack Lambert and not be a football player,” the Steinert High football coach said.
Caruso was referring to his senior two-way lineman Jack Lambert. For those not up on their 1970s football legends, Hall of Famer Jack Lambert was the NFL’s most ferocious linebacker of his era in helping the Steelers to four Super Bowls.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Lambert said of having the name. “I learned about him when I was four or five. I’m a Steelers fan, and so is my mom. The name was completely unintentional. When I started playing football, my mom said, ‘You know there’s a real player named Jack Lambert.’ That’s why I wear number 58.
“Every coach I ever had always said something the first time they ever met me. When I was younger I was like ‘Yeah, yeah!’ but now it’s like, ‘Whatever.’”
And while an induction ceremony in Canton may not be in his future, Lambert has proven to be a darn good high school player. A true iron man, he has played right offensive tackle and defensive end for three seasons without ever getting a break. And he plays both sides of the ball effectively.
“I think he is one of the best linemen in the county,” Caruso said. “He certainly should be up for Lineman of the Year in the county. He never comes off the field, he’s played every snap for all three years. He’s a natural born leader for us, he’s great in the classroom.”
Heading into the Thanksgiving game with Hamilton, Lambert was tied with Ryan Belford for the team lead in tackles with 63, three ahead of Colin James. He was the Spartans leader in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (8). When he wasn’t attacking the football, he was protecting it on the O-line.
“The thing about Jack is that on both sides of the ball he’s extremely aggressive and extremely active,” Caruso said. “He never stops moving his feet — whether that’s on offense driving people and moving people; or on defense in pursuit of the quarterback or the ball carrier.”
A student of the game, Lambert also makes things easier for himself by knowing where to be before the play starts.
“Jack doesn’t make mistakes,” Caruso said. “He doesn’t put himself in bad positions, he plays fundamentally sound football. When you have a high motor and play fundamentally sound football and you have the athleticism to make plays, you’re a darn good lineman.”
Lambert started the game at age 5 in Hamilton PAL, where he remained for his entire youth career. During that time he played fullback and middle linebacker — a position he had to play at least once in his career with his name.
In ninth grade, the Spartan freshman coaches tried him at tight end, but eventually opted to make him a lineman.
“I just tried the line and I liked it,” Lambert said. “I played a little bit of defensive end my last year with Hamilton PAL, but it was more like linebacker and I wasn’t completely a lineman. So I just gave it a go and fell in love with it.”
Lambert showed immediate talent, but Caruso’s philosophy is to keep all his freshmen together on the freshman team so they develop camaraderie and learn to play as a unit. There have been a few exceptions, but for the most part, a 9th-grader is on the freshman team unless an emergency call-up is needed.
Jack’s ability landed him a starting varsity spot as a sophomore, although he had to do a lot of work on his own prior to 10th grade, since the school and its weight room was closed due to Covid.
“It was hard during that pandemic year,” Caruso said. “It would have been the spring of his freshman year where we get into the weight room. But we weren’t in the weight room and doing all that stuff, so it was a mess. But he worked out on his own and got naturally stronger. He wasn’t small but obviously his body has matured and he needed to get stronger. He always had good feet.”
Lambert was happy to make varsity along with fellow sophomore James, but he felt some pressure after being made a starter.
“Oh yeah, especially the first couple games,” Lambert said. “But being around a veteran group, the veteran offensive line we had my sophomore year, they made it a lot better. But I was definitely nervous every single game. Now I’m kind of used to it. Once you go out there and the first play goes off and you hit that guy, everything just goes away and I get into the flow of the game.”
As a sophomore, Lambert had 17 tackles in a seven-game season. Last year, he had 68 tackles, six tackles for loss and a sack. He has raised his level of play despite some health issues.
“He’s in great shape and he’s tough as nails,” said Caruso, whose team was 5-4 heading into Thanksgiving. “He’s been banged up. All linemen who play both ways are gonna be banged up two games into the season. In our last game, he played the entire game both ways coming off the flu. He was not himself. But he’s that type of kid. He’s tough, he never complains about anything.
“Even in practice, I have to tell him sometimes, take a rest, get out. He plays that way in practice too.”
In assessing what he feels are the keys to succeeding at his positions, Lambert has a different take on each side of the ball.
“Offensively it’s just knowing your assignment and having the mindset of ‘What am I gonna do and how am I gonna do it?’” Lambert said. “I think that’s the best way to go about playing offensive line. It doesn’t matter how big you are, it doesn’t’ matter if you’re putting a guy on the ground every play, it’s just creating a lane any way you can.
“On the defensive line, I would say it’s more reaction. But studying film, seeing a certain formation and knowing what play is gonna come out of it definitely helps on defense. But it’s a lot more reaction, I think it’s more of a challenge, but it’s a lot more fun.”
Lambert has gotten interest from Division III college programs but Caruso is hoping he may be recruited by some teams from the Patriot League, which values academics. He sports a 4.1 grade point average and is a member of several clubs at Steinert, as well as the varsity baseball team.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” he said. “I’m not sure what I want to do yet; if I want to play in school. I’m still on the fence about it but it’s not like I’m completely relying on playing at the college level. It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about and it definitely can happen.”
And if it does, he can have a whole new bunch of people asking about his name.
Steinert senior lineman Jack Lambert in action at home against Ewing on Sept. 3, 2022. Steinert won the game, 21-Steinert senior lineman Jack Lambert in action at home against Ewing on Sept. 3, 2022. Steinert won the game, 21-13. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.)3. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.),
