Hours after Mark Stoops warns fans not to panic, star WR Dane Key enters transfer portal
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops closed his signing day news conference Wednesday afternoon with an ominous message.
“Nobody panic,” he said as he walked away from the podium. “We’re going to have a better football team.”
The reason for that message became clear just a few hours later when junior wide receiver Dane Key announced he was entering the transfer portal to play his final season of eligibility elsewhere.
A former four-star recruit from Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School, the son of former UK football player Donte Key has been a contributor since stepping on campus in 2022 and was the rare bright spot for an anemic passing attack this season.
Key finished the year with career highs in catches (47) and receiving yards (715) despite playing one fewer game than his freshman and sophomore seasons and missing most of the regular-season finale against Louisville due to an injury. At one point in the season he totaled at least 83 receiving yards in four of five games. He topped the 100-yard plateau in back-to-back weeks, including eight catches for 105 yards and one touchdown in the upset win at No. 6 Ole Miss.
While Key’s production did dip down the stretch, he was not helped by a lack of other consistent targets for UK’s quarterbacks and a porous offensive line that rarely offered whoever was playing quarterback enough time to move through multiple options.
Key ranks fifth on Kentucky’s career receiving yards list (1,870) and would have had a chance to break Craig Yeast’s career record (2,899) had he returned for his senior season. There had been speculation he might leave UK for the NFL draft, but instead he will stay in college football, possibly playing against Kentucky for another SEC rival.
“There will be some names on there (in the transfer portal) that we don’t want to lose,” Stoops said during his opening statement at Wednesday’s news conference. “I told you I anticipated that. It’s part of it. I don’t think there is a team in college football that’s not going to lose a few guys that they want on their team.”
Before this week, Kentucky had actually had a remarkable success rate in keeping its best players on the roster. Only one projected starter had left UK via the transfer portal since players were allowed to transfer without sitting out a season at their new school.
But Key is already the second starter to announce his plan to transfer before the portal even opens on Dec. 9, joining nose guard Keeshawn Silver. Backup tight ends Khamari Anderson and Tanner Lemaster and reserve offensive tackle Courtland Ford also announced plans or were reported to be planning to enter the portal Wednesday.
“Continuity is very important, but in today’s world, you got to do the best you can year to year,” Stoops said before Key’s announcement. “Let’s be honest, we didn’t have a very good year, so I’m pretty excited about change. We need some positive change.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 5:41 PM.