Kentucky receiver Dane Key is N.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Key spent the past three seasons in the Southeastern Conference at Kentucky and comes to Nebraska with one season of eligibility remaining plus a redshirt if he’d need it.
Key follows his position coach from 2024 at Kentucky, Daikiel Shorts Jr., who Matt Rhule hired at the request of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to coach receivers and replace Garret McGuire, who left Nebraska to be running backs coach at Texas Tech.
Key was productive in each season with the Wildcats. He was a starter since his true freshman season and has played in 38 career games (35 starts) with 126 catches, 1,870 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Key is coming off a 2024 season where he had career-highs in receptions (47) and receiving yards (715) to go along with two touchdown catches. Kentucky, which finished 4-8 overall and lost six of its last seven games, struggled offensively due to inconsistent play at the quarterback position.
Key was a highly-sought four-star receiver in the 2022 class out of Lexington (Ken.) Frederick Douglass. He had scholarship offers from major programs around the country, like Texas, Penn State and Tennessee. Key’s official visit tour included the likes of his hometown team, Kentucky, as well as Oregon, Michigan and South Carolina. Key, a Wildcat legacy as his dad played football at Kentucky, wound up staying home on signing day.
— Steve Marik, Inside Nebraska staff writer
A big-body outside receiver at 6-3, 210 pounds, Key is an excellent route-runner with reliable hands.
He’s more than willing to go outside his frame to haul in receptions, tracks the ball exceptionally well downfield, adjusting his route as needed and has the body control and agility to adjust mid-air in traffic and along the sidelines.
Utilizes his frame to out-muscle defensive backs in contested catch situations and shows the body strength to hold his own through contact. Shows high-end hand-eye coordination and focus when the ball’s in the air, has very few drops across his career.
Shows impressive IQ, relying on timing and subtle movements to create separation, finding soft spots in zone and adjusting to the quarterback when he goes off-script.
Has an arsenal of releases he uses to beat press coverage and create separation off the line of scrimmage. Adequate, but not elite speed, could improve yards-after-catch ability, and route tree could continue to diversify.
Fills the role left behind by Jahmal Banks, a reliable outside receiver in his own right, with some additional upside as a deep threat and the versatility to line up at a few different spots. He played over 100 snaps out of the slot in 2024.
— Tim Verghese, Inside Nebraska staff writer
Nebraska loses its top two receivers from 2024 in Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor. Those two each had strong moments during the season, but for the most part they were inconsistent with up-and-down quarterback play from freshman Dylan Raiola.
At the end of the year, Banks and Neyor combined for 74 catches, 963 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
While the program is set to return receivers like Jacory Barney Jr., Jaylen Lloyd, Janiran Bonner, Carter Nelson, Quinn Clark, Keelan Smith and Demitrius Bell, and add two high-ceiling 2025 recruits in Cortez Mills and Isaiah Mozee, more experienced bodies — preferably with size — were needed.
Nebraska adding Key and Cal redshirt freshman Nyziah Hunter through the transfer portal addresses those needs. The two transfer additions could even be considered upgrades to a room that’s now significantly more explosive.
At 6-3 and 210 pounds, Key should be a featured part of Nebraska’s pass offense under Holgorsen. He’s a strong route runner who uses his body to box out smaller defensive backs, which is what we said about Banks and Neyor when they transferred in.
Key’s physical size also allows him to mix it up at the line of scrimmage, where he’s shown to be a willing blocker in the run game.
— Steve Marik, Inside Nebraska staff writer
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