The Huskers landed one of their top targets from the portal, with wide receiver Dane Key announcing his commitment play his final season in a Nebraska uniform.
The receiver was previously at Kentucky, where new Nebraska wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts was his position coach. It’s a significant portal win for the Big Red, with Georgia among the other top potential landing spots for Key.
The 6-3, 210-pound Key was ranked No. 10 among all available prospects in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings.
It’s Key’s drumbeat of consistency over his three years with the Wildcats that add to his allure.
As a true freshman in 2022, Key started in 12 games and had 37 catches for 519 yards, with a UK freshmen-record-setting six touchdowns.
In 2023, he added 42 catches for a team-high 636 yards and six touchdowns. His top performance came in a home loss to Tennessee in which he made seven grabs for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also made five catches for 96 yards and a score in Kentucky’s Gator Bowl loss to Clemson.
This past fall, Key was one of the lone bright spots for a struggling UK offense as he led the team with 47 catches, going for 715 yards and two touchdowns. Starting all 12 games, he helped lead the Cats to an upset win over then-ranked No. 6 Ole Miss with an eight-catch, 103-yard, one-touchdown day. A week before, he made seven catches for a single-game career-high 145 yards in a win over Ohio.
He joins Nyziah Hunter, coming off an impressive freshman campaign at Cal, as receivers to commit to the Huskers from the portal in this cycle.
The additions help fill spaces left last year’s bigger-bodied portal adds of Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor, who played 640 and 582 snaps, respectively. Those were the most offensive reps on the team aside from Dylan Raiola and four O-linemen.
At Kentucky, Key played 626 snaps this year and had a sterling PFF grade of 79.5, which would’ve been the highest overall grade of any Husker in 2024.
Certainly the stability of Dylan Raiola as Nebraska’s QB1 can’t be undersold in the addiction of receivers who are looking for a quarterback they feel can deliver some strikes.
«I think he’s at like every dinner when all these kids come in for the transfer portal visits,» offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said of Raiola the peer recruiter. «I think he’s there most of the time because he understands the importance of getting guys in there that can help us win..»
The receiver additions also are a strong look for Shorts, who has been connected with Holgorsen over the past decade plus as a player and coach.
«Great recruiter,» Holgorsen said last week of Shorts. «Flipped our Houston room quickly and now is going to have that task to get some wideouts in here that are really going to make a difference. And I think we’ll do that here in the next week. He’s an elite wide receivers coach, an elite recruiter. He’s on the right side.»