Dane Key picked as Nebraska's player to watch in 2025 by David Pollack

After three seasons at Kentucky, wide receiver Dane Key entered the Transfer Portal and ended up as a prized piece at Nebraska. He joins rising star quarterback Dylan Raiola and the Huskers heading into year three of the Matt Rhule era.

Key was quietly one of the most consistent receivers in the SEC during his time at Kentucky, hauling in 1,870 career yards (5th most in Kentucky program history) and 14 career touchdowns (T-8th most in Kentucky program history) over 38 games.

After playing for three different offensive coordinators (Rich Scangarello, Liam Coen and Bush Hamdan) and three different starting quarterbacks (Will Levis, Devin Leary and Brock Vandagriff) over the three-year span, he decided to take his talents elsewhere for his final season of eligibility.

College football analyst David Pollack picked the Kentucky transfer as his player to watch for the Cornhuskers this season on his “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack” podcast.

“That joker can roll,” Pollack said about Key’s addition to Nebraska. “They’re losing a couple of targets but I think they get better at the wide receiver position. I think he’s more explosive. He’s one of the most explosive guys in the country. He transfers from Kentucky. Very consistent hands, I just need you to make some big plays. Nebraska has had plenty of drops. They’ve struggled with those. I think Dane Key can be a big-time playmaker. He’s dynamic.”

Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter form strong transfer duo at receiver

As Pollack noted, the Huskers lost its two leading receivers from last season in Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor. They however picked up two extremely talented replacements in Key and California transfer Nyziah Hunter, who hauled in 40 catches for 578 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2024 as a freshman.

“I’d say what brought me here was the quarterback,” Key told HuskerOnline‘s Steven Sipple in February, referring to Raiola. “I told Dylan the game’s going to slow down for him now. I told him he’s going to skyrocket even more.”

The Lexington, KY native is looking to make it five consecutive seasons where a transfer receiver has led the Huskers in receiving yards, joining Samori Toure (898 yards in 2021), Trey Palmer (1,043 yards in 2022), Billy Kemp (310 in 2023) and Jahmal Banks (587 in 2024).

Nebraska opens its highly anticipated 2025 campaign on August 28 against Cincinnati and head coach Scott Satterfield, who is squarely on the hot seat. The Cornhuskers are 4-6 in season openers since the 2015 season.