BY MICHAEL SWAIN
LAWRENCE, Kan. (247sports.com) – Kansas football defensive tackle Gage Keys is in the process of entering the transfer portal, he announced on his social media on Thursday morning. Keys departs KU after one season in Lawrence and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school. Keys is the third scholarship player from KU to enter the portal since the conclusion of the regular season.
Keys transferred to KU last offseason after he spent his first three seasons with the Minnesota program. He played in every game during the 2023 regular season as a part of KU’s rotation at defensive tackle. He notched 21 total tackles and four quarterback hurries during his time on the field. According to PFF, Keys played the 13th-most snaps of any defensive player during the regular season, notching 301 reps over the 12 games.
“Thank you for everything, Kansas. This has been the best year of my life and I’m proud to call KU my Alma mater. Will be a Jayhawk forever, and I appreciate every single one of you. So much love for y’all,” Keys tweeted upon announcing his intention to enter the transfer portal.
Keys was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class. He picked Minnesota over offers from Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Western Michigan to name a few. He was ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the state of Ohio and the No. 838 prospect nationally. He redshirted during his first season with Minnesota in 2020. He didn’t play on defense in 2021 and made his defensive debut for Minnesota this fall. During the 2022 season, he played 77 snaps over eight games according to Pro Football Focus.
With Keys departing, KU is now on track to return defensive tackles who played during the regular season in Tommy Dunn, D.J. Withers, Caleb Taylor and Kenean Caldwell. KU also has underclassmen defensive tackles in Marcus Calvin and Blake Herold. Tony Terry has also worked with the defensive tackles at times.
