Football instincts will help Dane Key see early playing time at Kentucky

Dane Key was a significant recruiting win in the class of 2022 for Kentucky. The four-star recruit made an immediate splash as an early enrollee.

After his first spring on campus, the Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass product looks like a player that will be able to help offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello immediately. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops feels good about that position overall, and recent developments have helped the Wildcats recruit the position at a higher level.

“I really feel like the receiver position we’re very deep,” Stoops told KSR’s Matt Jones during a radio interview on Thursday. “We’re probably, overall, as good as we’ve been there. Obviously, you’re going to miss Wan’Dale [Robinson] and his playmaking ability, but I feel like the whole position has grown, and that’s one of the reasons I made the change a year or two ago. Because as you get better, as your throw the football better, as you attract better quarterbacks that makes all those guys around them — all the skill guys — it attracts a guy like Dane Key to come to Kentucky.

In both open practice settings and the spring game, Dane Key flashed what made him such a touted recruit. At 6-foot-3, the true freshman is a long glider who can cover a bunch of ground and smoothly get in and out of cuts. Key has a chance to grow into a route-running technician with great ball skills highlighted by a large catch radius that could lead him to being a No. 1 target in an SEC passing offense and a legit NFL draft prospect.

So far, the newcomer is passing early checkpoints. Instincts and feel for the game is helping the youngster progress on the football field.

“Dane is unbelievable, said Stoops. “He’s everything we thought he was going to be as far as just a great human being. Very instinctual — I think that’s the word. Talent was there, that’s obvious to see. When I say probably exceeded my expectations I’m only saying that because of his feel for the game.”

Those football instincts only add value to Dane Key as a player. The true freshman comes from a football family with a dad, Donte, who played for Kentucky and older brother, Devon, who currently a safety in the Kansas City Chiefs organization. That high level football background is paying off as the next Key begins his college football career.

“I just love everything about him,” Stoops said. “He’s an impact player as a young guy.”