Coleman Keys turn in the spotlight

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Missouri's one-day camp at Kansas City broke for lunch Sunday afternoon, offensive coordinator David Yost and head coach Gary Pinkel walked toward the sideline with one mission in mind.

Find Coleman Key.

"I've been getting a lot of attention," Key said, just minutes after Pinkel and Yost spoke to him for several minutes during the lunch break. "It's really nice."

During the afternoon session, the 2014 quarterback prospect displayed his crisp delivery, solid throwing mechanics and golden arm in front of MU coaches, and he said after camp they told him they were "very impressed" by his performance. As he fired the football back and forth in quarterback drills, the long, athletic 6-4, 200-pounder looked like a seasoned veteran.

Funny, considering the Oklahoma native has never even started a varsity game. In 2011, he served as a backup to his older brother Kason at Owasso High School, meaning he had no game tape to show to college coaches. In fact, Key said after practice that Missouri told him it could not offer him a scholarship until it reviewed his film from Sunday's camp.

The Tigers aren't the only ones hesitating right now. Key has no scholarship offers from any schools, but that may not last long. His pesky older brother is out of the picture now after graduating from Owasso and landing at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and Key decided to start anew as a junior by transferring to Broken Arrow High School- the team Owasso lost to in the state semifinals last November.

So Coleman Key is the man now at Broken Arrow, no longer a footnote to his brother. Major programs like Oklahoma and Texas are also already pursuing Key despite his lack of varsity experience, simply because his physical gifts and raw potential are too appealing to pass up. That's why Pinkel and Yost invested so much time courting him on Sunday. From a physical standpoint, this guy looks like a star quarterback should.

Even without any offers, Key already has a top-five list in no particular order: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Arkansas. His list of college options and offers will surely grow during his junior year at Broken Arrow, but Key said he's taking his time with this decision.

"I just want to wait and see where everything goes," Key said. "I'm not going to commit right on the spot."

Key said Missouri's camp in Kansas City is probably the last one he'll attend this summer. From there, it'll be time to prepare for his junior year at Broken Arrow, where he'll have the opportunity to prove all of this potential on the actual football field in live game situations.

A big 2012 season could open a whole new world of college options for Key, but don't expect Missouri to fall out of contention.

"Great program, great coaches, and got a lot of things going for it," Key said. "This is definitely a school I'd like to be at."

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