Dane Key's father talks recruitment: "Kentucky is on the list."

DrewFranklinKSR

There is some speculation in online recruiting discussions that Frederick Douglass star wideout Dane Key is not considering his hometown school, the University of Kentucky, for when he moves on to college football in 2022. With another year of high school football in Lexington before he goes anywhere, Key remains undecided in the early phases of his recruiting process, but it hasn’t kept outsiders from serving up premature predictions for his college future.

During Wednesday’s KSR morning radio show, Ryan Lemond—best friend of Key’s father, former UK linebacker Donte Key—would not comment on the speculation around Key’s college interests, only saying he loves Dane and will support him wherever he decides to go. Ryan’s prepared statement was not the denial Matt Jones hoped to hear when he asked if there is any truth to rumors Key is looking outside the Bluegrass for his future; in fact, it was quite the opposite.

However, the day was saved when the show took a phone call from Donte Key who wanted to set the record straight, and save his good buddy Ryan from a difficult spot. He told KSR, “I’ve had a chance to talk to the coaching staff over there and we had a really good conversation and I respect what they’ve done and the type of players that they’re getting. So I’ll tell you that Kentucky is on the list.”

Key, whose oldest son Devon recently completed a record-setting career at Western Kentucky and is now preparing for the NFL draft, said it irks him to read speculation of where any kid is going when the people speculating haven’t had any conversations with the prospect or his parents. “Those guys don’t know,” he said.

As for Dane, “At this time he is just weighing all the options that he has, he has some really good schools, Kentucky is one of those… He’s got really good options and we need to see where the best fit for him is.”

None of the Keys have spoken to UK’s new offensive coordinator, Liam Cohen, but Donte likes the hire and is excited to see what Cohen brings from Sean McVay’s L.A. Rams offense. I’m sure they’ll be hearing from the new OC soon once he clocks in for his first day of work at UK.

Unfortunately, it sounds like another unnamed school is making a strong case as well. Key told KSR, “There’s another school that’s really attractive too to us because, getting the ball in his hands, that’s where he does his work. And if you can’t get the ball in the playmakers hands, then it makes for a difficult time for those kids to be happy where they’re at.

“Sometimes you see these kids in the transfer portal, which I hate. I taught both my boys, where you’re at, you’re going to be at, and that’s why we’re going to take our time and make a decision on where he’s going to go.”

So there you have it. Kentucky is still in the mix for 2022 four-star wide receiver Dane Key, per his father, and everyone trying to cut UK from contention can shut it.

And the predicament Ryan got caught up in?

“Part of being a friend is trying to get them out of situations, and that’s what I was trying to do for Ryan.”

Listen to the entire interview: