Notre Dame WR Lawrence Keys III: 'I wish I was there right now"

Notre Dame receiver Lawrence Keys III didn't hide his feelings during the recruiting process and stuck to his goals.

The former McDonogh 35 (La.) star wanted to get out of New Orleans to expand his horizons, but also for many other reasons. The transition to Notre Dame is a tough one and Keys has made it with ease. 

"Honestly, I'm happy," Keys told Irish Sports Daily. "Developing as a freshman and leaving home for the first time, it was like an overwhelming feeling. It was me leaving home and getting homesick, but I had to put it to the side. 

"I always knew I was going to leave because I didn't want to stay home."

Keys choosing Notre Dame wasn't a huge surprise as he had been leaning towards the Irish for months prior to his commitment. When Keys and his mother took an official visit in January of 2018, it sealed the deal and Keys inked with the Irish a couple of weeks later.

"When I took my visit, the first thing we got to was academics," stated Keys. "I sat down with Adam Sargent, who is our academic advisor, and the first thing he told me was if you put football aside, the academics are going to be hard all the time. He let me know it was going to be hard. 

"I expected a challenge coming in my freshman year, so I was already ahead of what I was coming into. It wasn't that bad or shocking because I was notified in advance before I got there." 

Sargent and others have made the transition easy and Keys is now at a point where he can thrive on and off the field.

"Sarg, the coaches, even students and my teammates know it's hard," Keys explained. "Everyone encourages each other. It's a big group of people who give out advice." 

As for looking back at the tough decision to leave New Orleans, Keys couldn't be happier. 

"Now that I've been at Notre Dame going on my third year, I love it there," said Keys. "I don't even like coming back home. I wish I was there right now." 

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