7/4/2023 football Edit

Mizzou receives a commitment from three-star cornerback Cameron Keys

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

Add Mosley (FL) three-star cornerback Cameron Keys to the list of prospects that have recently committed to Mizzou in the last week with Keys announcing his commitment on Independence Day.

He was recently at Missouri during the Tigers’ “Gold Rush” official visit weekend on June 23-25 and entering that weekend, he had had a top four of Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

Keys took an unofficial visit to Mizzou in March but didn’t explore the town and that was the thing that had him on edge about committing to the Tigers. But after getting a whiff of the culture and touring the town, Keys chose to commit to the Tigers instead of their SEC foes.

“What put it over the top for Missouri was the culture there,” Keys said. “Just their brand from a football standpoint and everybody is united together as one. That visit was really good. It just opened my eyes to the city of Columbia because I thought it was a dead spot with nothing there.

"But after doing stuff with the team and going places, it really showed me how very nice of a city it is. I had always liked Missouri, but my only holdback was what am I going to do in Columbia?”

When Keys talked to PowerMizzou in late March, he said academics and a coaching staff that would help develop him were really important during his recruiting process.

Over the past few months, his relationship with cornerbacks coach Al Pogue and head coach Eli Drinkwitz has grown, and he believes they can help him on and off the field.

“I feel great about both coaches," Keys said. "Both of them see great things in me and they see me helping this team in the future. I see coach Pogue as someone who will not only help me in football but become a great man in life and teach me things. I know he’s going to develop me right. So, I feel he can get me to the next level.

“For coach Drink, it’s the same way. He’s in it to win, have fun, still teach us and make sure we have a plan for the future.”

Despite Keys publicly committing on July 4, he realized that Mizzou was his school of choice before the end of his visit.

“At the end of the second day (I knew I was committing to Mizzou),” Keys said. “They showed us this video and there are highlights and stuff but it got me hyped. It got me ready to suit up. I can see myself in that Missouri black and gold. I can see myself in that atmosphere playing. So, I was like dang I got to see what this is.”

According to MaxPreps, Keys had 26 tackles, nine pass deflections, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in nine games in 2022.

He joins Justin Bodford, Cam Dooley, Aidan Glover, Jackson Hancock, Whit Hafer, Jude James and Ryan Jostes, James Madison and Nicholas Rodriguez as 2024 Mizzou commits.