Kentucky receiver Dane Key is N.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Key spent the last three seasons in the Southeastern Conference at Kentucky and comes to Nebraska with eligibility remaining and a redshirt if he needed to.

Key succeeds Daikiel Shorts Jr. as coach starting in 2024 at Kentucky, whom Matt Rhule hired as receivers coach at the request of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, replacing Garret McGuire, who left Nebraska to become running backs coach at Texas Tech.

Key has been productive each season with the Wildcats. He has been 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 in which he set career highs in receptions (47) and receiving yards (715) as well as two touchdown catches. Kentucky, which finished 4-8 overall and lost six of its last seven games, struggled offensively because of inconsistent play at the quarterback position.

Key was a coveted four-star receiver in the 2022 class from Lexington (Ken.) Frederick Douglass. He had scholarship offers from major programs across the country, including Texas, Penn State and Tennessee. Key’s official tour included his hometown team Kentucky as well as Oregon, Michigan and South Carolina. Key, a Wildcat legacy when his father played football at Kentucky, stayed home on signing day.

— Steve Marik, staff writer for Inside Nebraska

Key is a big-bodied 6-3, 210-pound outside receiver. He is an excellent route runner with reliable hands.

He is more than willing to go beyond his frame to catch balls, tracks the ball exceptionally well downfield, adjusts his route as needed, and has the body control and agility to move in the air in traffic and on the sideline to adapt.

Uses his frame to overwhelm defensive backs in contested catching situations and shows the physical strength needed to power through contact. Shows top-notch hand-eye coordination and concentration when the ball is in the air and has suffered very few falls throughout his career.

Shows impressive IQ, relies on timing and subtle movements to create separation, finds weak spots in the zone and adjusts to the quarterback when he goes off script.

Has an arsenal of releases to beat press coverage and create separation away from the line of scrimmage. Decent but not elite speed could improve yards-after-catch ability and the route tree could diversify further.

Fills the role left by Jahmal Banks, a reliable outside receiver himself, with some added upside as a deep threat and the versatility to perform in a variety of spots. In 2024, he played over 100 snaps from the slot.

— Tim Verghese, staff writer for Inside Nebraska

Nebraska loses its two best receivers from 2024 in Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor. Those two each had strong moments during the season, but for the most part they belied the inconsistent quarterback play of 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 aims to bring back receivers like Jacory Barney Jr., Jaylen Lloyd, Janiran Bonner, Carter Nelson, Quinn Clark, Keelan Smith and Demitrius Bell and add two more experienced 2025 recruits in Cortez Mills and Isaiah Mozee – preferably with size – were needed.

The addition of Key and Cal redshirt freshman Nyziah Hunter from Nebraska via the transfer portal fills those needs. The two transfer extensions could even be seen as an upgrade of a space that is now much more explosive.

At 6-3 and 210 pounds, Key should be an important part of Nebraska’s passing offense under Holgorsen. He’s a strong route runner who uses his body to outsmart smaller defensive backs, which is what we said about Banks and Neyor when they came on.

Key’s physical size also allows him to provide variety at the line of scrimmage, where he proves to be a willing blocker in the run game.

— Steve Marik, staff writer for Inside Nebraska

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