COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Head Football Coach Eliah Drinkwitz has added junior college transfer DL Ben Key (Cranbourne West, Australia) to the Tiger program, as announced today. Key, who will be the first-ever native Australian to suit up for the Tiger program, comes to Columbia via East Los Angeles College, where the 6-foot-3, 274-pound linemen became one of the top defensive end prospects in the junior college ranks.
Key has enrolled at Mizzou and will have two years of eligibility with the Tiger program. He was ranked as the No. 41 overall junior college prospect in the nation for 2020 by ESPN.com, as well as that outlet’s No. 4 defensive tackle, while 247Sports.com ranked Key as the No. 15 junior college player and No. 13 strong side defensive end in California.
As a sophomore in 2019, he totaled 40 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks in 10 games, while also forcing a pair of fumbles and recovering one. In his first year at East L.A., he saw action in six games and made 14 tackles, including five tackles for loss and four sacks.
Initially a rugby player growing up in his native Australia, Key eventually converted to football. He would later move across the Pacific Ocean to finish his high school career and continue his pursuit of football at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, Calif. He chose Mizzou over offers from Mississippi State, Utah, Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State, UCLA and Syracuse, among others.
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