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Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
Kentucky wide receiver Dane Key will transfer to Nebraska, he announced Tuesday.
Key is the No. 2 wide receiver and No. 6 overall player in ESPN’s transfer rankings. His transfer is a significant recruiting win for coach Matt Rhule and his staff as they continue to build around freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior will join the Huskers for his final season of eligibility in 2025.
Key, a three-year starter for the Wildcats, has caught 126 passes for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns during his career. He’ll reunite with his receivers coach, Daikiel Shorts Jr., after the Huskers hired him away from Kentucky earlier this month.
Key produced a career-high 715 receiving yards on 47 receptions in 2024 despite playing with three different quarterbacks during the Wildcats’ 4-8 season. He departs as fifth-leading receiver in school history.
Nebraska has been seeking new playmakers via the portal to support Raiola after its top two wideouts graduated and have added Key and Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter, the No. 11 receiver in ESPN’s transfer rankings. Raiola leads all FBS true freshman quarterbacks with 2,595 passing yards on the season.
The Huskers have also signed former Missouri defensive end Williams Nwaneri, the No. 13 overall player in the portal, and now has 10 commitments from transfers for 2025.
Nebraska went 6-6 in Rhule’s second year, becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2016, and will close out its season against Boston College in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28 (12 p.m. ET, ABC).