Key Lawrence started six games at safety for Oklahoma last season before transferring to Ole Miss this offseason.
DALLAS — Ole Miss signed the nation’s top-ranked transfer class this year, as the Rebels looked to bolster their roster after an 11-win season that culminated in a Peach Bowl victory.
Among the transfer additions for Lane Kiffin’s program this offseason was former Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence, who transferred to Ole Miss in December after the Sooners wrapped up their regular season. Lawrence was one of 24 incoming transfers for the Rebels this offseason and was the sixth-highest rated defensive pickup for the program.
He figures to play a key role for the Rebels as part of the rotation in their secondary this season.
Key’s a stud,” Ole Miss defensive end Jared Ivey said Monday at SEC Media Days. “We got a room full of safeties that are just unbelievable talents. They work so hard. Key, another guy who’s just unbelievably funny and just a good dude to be around. On top of that, he is a great player.
Lawrence spent three seasons at Oklahoma after starting his career off at Tennessee. He appeared in 36 games during his time in Norman and made 14 starts in the secondary, including six last season at safety. He totaled 44 tackles, including four for a loss, and had two interceptions, a forced fumble and three pass breakups for a Sooners defense that ranked 18thin the country in defensive pass efficiency and 22nd in opponent completion rate (56.8%).
He joins an Ole Miss defense that ranked 52nd and 69th in those two categories, respectively, last season and returns starting safeties John Saunders Jr. and Trey Washington. Along with bringing 46 career appearances and nearly 1,400 career snaps of experience to the Rebels’ defense, Lawrence quickly acclimated to his new team and made an impression on his new teammates during the sprinpg.
“He’s able to cover a lot of ground very, very quickly,” Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris said. “It honestly surprised me to see a guy at his size cover that much ground because he’s a pretty big boy; he’s 6-3, about 215 (pounds), and he’s moving. Just to see how quickly he learned the offense as well was impressive to me, because he picked it up really, really well.
“I’m really excited to see what he does in the season and just see him in the open field and see him making a lot of plays and a lot of tackles.”
Oklahoma will get a chance to see Lawrence on Oct. 26, when the Sooners visit Oxford, Miss., to take on the Rebels for a midseason early kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
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