Freshman Defensive Back Cameron Keys Standing out Early in Fall Camp

Cameron Keys appears to be impressing his coaches and teammates so far in early practices. Here's what others are saying about the 4-star corner back.

Cameron Keys on a visit at Mizzou. / Cameorn Keys via Twitter/X

The Missouri Tigers were able to pull in a plethora of talented recruits for the incoming 2024 season. One of those talents, four-star CB Cameron Keys, appears to be impressing the coaching staff and his teammates.

The Lynn Haven, Fla., native was the composite No. 535 player in the country and a three-star, according to composite rankings. 247Sports listed him as a four-star recruit, as did ESPN. He also held offers from Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas and others. His final decision was between Vanderbilt, Kentucky and the Tigers.

Out of the first impressions Keys has made on the team, one word continues to come up — physicallity. The 6-foot, 166-lb. Keys isn't necessarily a physical specimen, but he is finding a way to still be a physical match up.

“Cam Keys has done a nice job, he’s very physical," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the first five fall practices. "Two days ago, when we were putting pads on, he knew what it was going to take and the physicality he had to play with."

Not only did the head coach take notice, but other guys on the field. On the other side of the ball, senior receiver Mookie Cooper has his eyes on Keys. His ability to make plays, excel in individual drills and again, play physically, are all things allowing him to stand out.

"He had like two really big hits yesterday in the scrimmage, and he likes even blocking or perimeter drills or something like that," Cooper said Tuesday. "He's just not afraid to put his head in there and go make contact with a receiver. That's just something you don’t see too too much out of freshmen, especially at his size."

Keys' lack of size and strength was seen as a potential weakness entering the year and possibly a reason to keep him off the field entering the season. If those are issues he can work around, while also bulking up, he may be hard to keep off the field.

Fellow defensive back and Clemson transfer Toriano Pride Jr. has also taken notice of Keys' early success. A few of his plays were viewed as energizers by Keys' teammates.

"He had a few tackles (in the scrimmage.) He had a little blitz everybody was happy about. He got a tackle for loss, turned the whole defensive sideline up,” Pride said.

His physicality, according to his teammates, was on full display in Monday's scrimmage.

“Cam Keys, I think, he had the most physical play of the scrimmage. Came down, made a tackle," Johnson said.

The high praise of Keys is not all that surprising, but it may not have been the name people were expecting to hear a lot about. These high-effort, physical plays were ones he made in high school, so the translation is also not a surprise.

With the emergence of Keys, it may be hard to keep him off the field. He has some big names to chase down on the depth chart, so slotting him in as CB No. 5 or No. 6 to start the year could be reasonable. At this rate, however, that could skyrocket throughout the season.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Football Position Previews: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Offensive Line | Defensive Tackle | Inside Linebacker | Edge Rusher | Cornerbacks | Safeties | Special Teams

Meet the Transfer/Freshman series:  Offensive Linemen | Jaylen Brown | Cameron Keys | James Madison II | Drew Pyne | Nate Noel |  Elias Williams Marcus Carroll | Aidan Glover | Khalil Jacobs | Jeremiah Beasley | Jaren Sensabaugh | Trajen Greco | Eddie Kelly | Toriano Pride Jr. | Jaylen Brown | Courtney Crutchfield | Corey Flagg Jr. | Darris Smith | Chris McClellan | Williams Nwaneri 

Breakout Candidate Joshua Manning Continuing to Earn Opportunities in Fall Camp