Penn State Commit Lavar Keys Talks Recruitment, Championship Goals [EXCLUSIVE]

Day by day, Penn State Football’s class of 2026 inches closer and closer to the finish line, granted there is still a long time between now and February 2026.

Today, Lavar Keys will take center stage.

Keys is from Dematha Catholic, the same high school that produced future Penn State safety and NFL Draft hopeful, KJ Winston.

The 5-10 wideout from Maryland recently spoke to NittanyCentral, looking back on his recruitment, examining his bond with fellow Penn State commits and his future goals.

“I just the love and the environment, being able to play at Penn State would be amazing,” Keys told NittanyCentral is what drove him to choose the Nittany Lions. “It’s crazy how electric the fans are … it’s just Penn State you know? Nobody could turn down that [opportunity]… just everything about Penn State stood out during my recruiting process.”

Keys committed to Penn State back in August, 2024, and has been a driving force within the class.

Penn State holds the pledge of eight recruits in the 2026 cycle.

These eight, and likely many more, will become future teammates.

So what is the dynamic like among them?

“I’m gonna be honest,” Keys said. “Everybody Jah, Messiah, Troy, Matt, all of us we just [have] a great relationship and we’re just looking to build this so we can change the culture when we get up there and help go win a natty. It starts now with us getting to know each other … building the brotherhood helps with everything.”

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Nittany Lions’ Ace in the Hole in Lavar Keys’ Recruitment

Penn State wide receiver coach Marques Hagans was key in recruiting Keys.

No pun intended.

“The relationship with coach Hagans is amazing, we text everyday,” Keys explains. “He makes sure everything is good with me and I make sure everything is good with him. He makes sure I’m doing good in school… and things like that … We FaceTime maybe three times [per] week.”

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As Dematha looks to build off of a season where they won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference in 2024. This was Dematha’s first time winning the WCAC since 2016. Keys helped lead them to that championship posting a 2nd team all MET season.

As far as his senior year, Keys had these goals in mind saying “I’m gonna be honest, I’m committed already. I just want to be a good teammate, you know? Let my teammates eat, not be selfish… because everybody wants to have good film, go to college, I just want to be a team player.”

Besides being a team-first guy Keys said this about winning “Also, I wanna repeat… get another championship ring. That’s already gonna happen though… and I just wanna stay safe you know? I wanna be safe on the field every game, every game I want to walk off the field with no injuries… nothing really happened to me last year and I’m blessed for that. I just wanna end the season next year safe. [Then] go up to Penn State strong and healthy and just ready to work and compete.”

Certainly, Keys will have a chance to continue to prove himself this upcoming fall at Dematha and in future falls at Penn State.