#18

Dane Key

Senior wide receiver for Nebraska. 2025: 39 catches, 452 receiving yards, 5 TD.

WR · Nebraska · Sr. · #18

6′3″ · 210 lb · Lexington, KY

CFB Index 49 · #233 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceReturning to Nebraska for 2026

How he plays

Moves the chains on third down.

TD rate: 89th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

452

receiving yards · 2025

39 catches · 5 TD · 11.6 per catch

Best game: 4 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD, vs Houston Christian

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 wide receiver for Nebraska. 2025: 39 catches, 452 receiving yards, 5 TD.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Kentucky in 2022.
Transferred from Kentucky to Nebraska in 2025.

The full story, with sources

Dane Key

WR · Nebraska · Sr · #18

Moves the chains on third down. Dane Key has played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. The receipt on tape: 104 rec yds, 4 receptions against Houston Christian, Week 3, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2023Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Balanced, slow tempo

2024Kentucky4-8HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2025Nebraska7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

49Rotational starter #233 of 485?

High confidence10 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: td rate (89th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#86 / 798 · 89th pct

6.5%

Yards / catch#330 / 798 · 59th pct

12.3

EPA / target#403 / 798 · 50th pct

0.42

Explosive rate#499 / 798 · 37th pct

8.1%

Catch rate#548 / 798 · 31st pct

62.9%

Box-score rates (5)

Rec TDs#96 / 558 · 78th pct

Receptions#192 / 558 · 65th pct

Rec yards#254 / 558 · 55th pct

452

Yards / catch#361 / 558 · 35th pct

11.6

Long catch#378 / 558 · 31st pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

88th → 50th percentile

Explosive rate

89th → 37th percentile

Catch rate

20th → 31st percentile

TD rate

16th → 89th percentile

Yards / catch

84th → 59th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

23%14 of his 62 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	3.0	39.3	12.3	0.5
Road5g	4.2	43.2	10.7	0.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.0	49.5	12.7	0.7
Weeks 8+5g	3.0	31.0	10.3	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Rhule

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Rotational

Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

49 · #233 of 485 WRs

Former four-star. Now #233 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-Big Ten

Based on 2025: #33 of 61 Big Ten WRs

How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed

15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Nebraska	39	452	11.6	5	--
2024	Kentucky	47	715	15.2	2	--
2023	Kentucky	42	636	15.1	6	--
2022	Kentucky	37	519	14.0	6	--
Career		165	2,322	14.1	19	--

Season	Team
2025	Nebraska	--	--	--	--	--
2024	Kentucky	--	--	--	--	--
2023	Kentucky	--	--	--	--	--
2022	Kentucky	1	-2	--	--	--
Career		1	-2	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2025

W 28–21

vs Northwestern

3 rec · 22 yds

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.

With K. Williams — 1 TD · 62 AVG · 95 LONG · A. Wilson — 55 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 58 LONG

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 10 · USC · 3&9 · Q1 · EPA +3.15(06:32) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 D.Raiola pass complete short right to #6 D.Key caught at USC00, for 14 yards to the USC00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 06:29, 1ST DOWN #91 K.Cunanan kick attempt good (H: #37 K.Koch, LS: #46 K.Gallic)
Week 3 · Houston Christian · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.14Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 39 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)
Week 1 · Cincinnati · 4&2 · Q4 · EPA +2.87Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 3 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)
Week 13 · Penn State · 3&11 · Q1 · EPA +2.71Shotgun #14 T.Lateef pass complete short right to #6 D.Key caught at NEB40, for 19 yards to the NEB43, out of bounds at NEB43, 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Cincinnati · 2&12 · Q3 · EPA +2.58Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 15 yds to the NEB 49 for a 1ST down
Week 1 · Cincinnati · 3&5 · Q1 · EPA +2.44Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 11 yds to the CIN 48 for a 1ST down
Week 10 · USC · 3&6 · Q2 · EPA +2.41(03:50) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 D.Raiola pass complete short middle to #6 D.Key caught at NEB48, for 9 yards to the USC48 (#17 D.Nicholson), 1ST DOWN
Week 7 · Maryland · 2&16 · Q4 · EPA +2.34Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 16 yds to the NEB 40 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Maryland · 2&3 · Q4 · EPA +2.21Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 3 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)
Week 2 · Akron · 2&1 · Q3 · EPA +2.00Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 12 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 20-17@ Cincinnati	6	51	8.5	1	15
Wk 2	W 68-0vs Akron	3	35	11.7	1	18
Wk 3	W 59-7vs Houston Christian	4	104	26.0	1	40	Season-high 104 yds
Wk 4	L 27-30vs Michigan	3	36	12.0	0	21
Wk 7	W 34-31@ Maryland	4	43	10.8	1	19
Wk 9	W 28-21vs Northwestern	3	22	7.3	0	13
Wk 10	L 17-21vs USC	2	23	11.5	1	14
Wk 11	W 28-21@ UCLA	3	46	15.3	0	29
Wk 13	L 10-37@ Penn State	4	48	12.0	0	19
Wk 14	L 16-40vs Iowa	3	16	5.3	0	6
Bowl	L 22-44@ Utah	4	28	7.0	0	9
Total		39	452	11.6	5	40

How he plays

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

CFB Index positional classification

Money down · 3rd-down role

Money down

fact

8/153rd-down conversions

0.963rd-down EPA/target

0.30Other-downs EPA/target

12 of 15 caught on third down (80.0%) — EPA/target 0.96 vs 0.30 elsewhere (8 conversions).

Catch rate is disclosed context only, never the gate — conversions and EPA/target are. Interception targets carry no attribution row at any source, so EPA/target here is unfixably, slightly inflated.

2026 Outlook

Nebraska

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Wide receiver · Nebraska

Returning around him