Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
5 6 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I t didn't take long for three-star wide receiver Lavar Keys to make up his mind about Penn State. A DeMatha Catholic standout who is rated by On3 as the No. 104 receiver and No. 10 Maryland prospect in the 2026 class, Keys earned an offer from the Nittany Lions on July 27, shortly after putting together a strong workout at Penn State's White Out camp. I m m e d i a te ly a f te r t h a t p e r fo r - m a n ce , t h e 5 - fo o t -1 0, 165 - p o u n d wideout made it clear just how much the offer meant to him. Noting that he's named after former Penn State A l l -A m e r i ca l i n e ba c ke r L a Va r A r- rington, Keys said he'd been eyeing the Nittany Lions since the start of his high school career. However, it wasn't clear until a few days later that he didn't want to wait around to act on the Lions' invitation. On Aug. 2, less than a week after re- ceiving his offer, he gave PSU a verbal commitment. BWI recently caught up with Keys to learn about his brief but eventful re- cruitment. BWI: Going into the White Out camp, did you have a relationship with any of Penn State's staff members? I assume they reached out from time to time, but were you talking to them steadily? LAVAR KEYS: When I first got to DeMatha, I always told my coaches that Penn State is where I wanted to go. We would always go up to Penn State for seven-on-seven camps, and they would pull a couple of kids to the side to go run a 40 and do this or that. That's really when the relationship started to get going, but I couldn't talk to them [off-campus] be- cause I was a '26 recruit. In June, a bunch of their coaches hit me up, and a lot of them were asking me to come to camp. Also, Coach [Andy] Ko- telnicki came to DeMatha in the spring. I wasn't really looking into going at first, but then a month before camp, Coach [Rashad] Rich started calling me. So, imagine me and him just talking ev- ery day. He was calling me every day, tell- ing me to come to camp. I already knew [PSU staffers] Chris Mahon and Kenny Sanders, but it wasn't a tight relationship yet. But me and Rich talking every day, that changed it. I told my coach then that I had to go up there, because Rich put in his word, and I want to keep my word to them that I'd camp with them. BWI: You ran really well at camp and did great during positional drills. Did QUICK THINKING Speedy 2026 wide receiver prospect Lavar Keys didn't hesitate after earning an offer from his favorite school RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M I N T E R V I E W L A V A R K E Y S Keys became a high-priority target for Penn State after a strong performance at the Lions' White Out camp in July. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER