Kansas defensive lineman Gage Keys (7) celebrates a third-down stop against Kansas State during the third quarter on Saturday Nov. 18, 2023 at Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas football sustained potentially its biggest player-personnel loss of the month thus far when Gage Keys announced his decision to enter the transfer portal Thursday morning.

“Thank you for everything, Kansas,” Keys wrote on X. “This has been the best year of my life and I’m proud to call KU my Alma mater. Will be a Jayhawk forever, and I appreciate every single one of you. So much love for y’all.”

Keys played 301 snaps as a rotational defensive tackle for the Jayhawks this season, and saw his opportunities increase down the stretch as Devin Phillips dealt with injury. He made three starts late in the year. In all, his 21 total tackles were by far the highest in his position group, and his four quarterback hits were second-best on the team.

He saw his playing time spike, and put up his first particularly strong showing, against BYU, when the Jayhawks held the Cougars to nine rushing yards.

Later, he played a role in a sack by fellow Minnesota transfer Austin Booker that forced a fumble against Texas Tech. In the regular-season finale, he had two stops on the opening drive at Cincinnati, one to hold on second-and-short and another to force a fourth down.

Keys was a redshirt sophomore this year but picked up his degree, meaning that he can play immediately elsewhere as a graduate transfer, even though he just came to KU from Minnesota last offseason. (Although the NCAA rules on two-time transfers are in complete disarray currently due to a federal court ruling Wednesday, so there’s a chance even non-graduate two-time entrants might be able to play immediately going forward.)

Keys had been recruited to Minnesota by Jim Panagos before Panagos left to become KU’s defensive tackles coach. That made for an easy fit when he was looking for a new home in the transfer portal. Now, he’ll go through the process a second time.

He becomes the third scholarship player to enter the portal for the Jayhawks, following tight end Will Huggins and wide receiver Tanaka Scott. KU’s lone addition so far is tight end DeShawn Hanika.

The prospect of Keys’ departure makes the Jayhawks somewhat thin on the interior line, as they are also losing Phillips to graduation. D.J. Withers played the most snaps at the position this season and Tommy Dunn Jr. was not far behind Phillips and Keys. Other reserve options include Kenean Caldwell and Caleb Taylor, veterans who had strong moments in relief opportunities, and Marcus Calvin and Blake Herold, who were freshmen this season.