All Sooners

Former Oklahoma Defensive Back Lands at UCLA

Key Lawrence played multiple positions for the Sooners for two head coaches two defensive football, but always seemed to find himself around the football.

John E. Hoover

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy and Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Key Lawrence
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy and Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Key Lawrence / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
In this story:

Another former Oklahoma defensive back will finish his career in the Big Ten Conference.

In California.

Key Lawrence, who began his career at Tennessee and played for the Sooners from 2021-23 before transferring to Ole Miss this season, announced Tuesday he’ll transfer one more time — to the UCLA Bruins.

Lawrence, from Nashville, played cornerback, free safety, strong safety and even a little cheetah during his time with the Sooners.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Lawrence played in 36 games in the Crimson and Cream, and amassed 149 total tackles for OU. It seemed like he was always around the football, as Lawrence broke up 12 passes, forced six fumbles and pulled down three interceptions while playing for Oklahoma.

Lawrence, who also excelled at basketball in high school, played in 10 games as a true freshman for the Vols before transferring with Tennessee teammates running back Eric Gray and offensive lineman Wanya Morris to OU, where then-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch had a hard time figuring out his best position. He was most effective at corner and safety, where he forced three fumbles in 2021.

He continued to play multiple positions but settled in mostly at safety under Brent Venables in 2022 and 2023 as he had a career high 58 tackles in Venables’ first season and tied his career-high four tackles for loss with two picks in 2023.

Things didn’t quite work out for Lawrence at Ole Miss, as he played in just four games before deciding to sit out the rest of the season and take a redshirt. After playing mostly on special teams, he announced in October that he intended to transfer.

Lawrence will now have one season to play for the Bruins as they move on into their second season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

Home/Football