University of Georgia Athletics
Keys Following In Family Footsteps
April 17, 2025 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Picture Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry shooting a 3-pointer, as he's done nearly 10,000 times in his long NBA career. Curry often lets loose from a few feet behind the line that is 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket everywhere but in the corners.
Now picture someone getting a running start and jumping from where Curry usually shoots, say 26 feet out, and landing underneath the basket. Got it? It seems like an absurdly long distance for a human to jump, doesn't it.
"It's always mind-blowing to me, as well," said Georgia freshman Jayden Keys, who won the SEC indoor long jump title in February with a leap of 26 feet. It was the 10th-best collegiate jump in the country during the indoor season and the third-longest in Bulldogs history.
"I feel like in the moment, it feels like I'm barely in the air," he said, "but then when I see how far it really is, it's always mind-blowing to me. It's like, I really jumped that far? You want to go measure that again?"
What is he thinking about as he soars through the air? Not much.
"I feel like when I think too much I don't execute the things that I do normally," he said.
At the NCAA Indoors last month, Keys' best jump was 24 feet, 3.75 inches, which was good enough for 13th place. Teammate Micah Larry placed fourth, and earned All-America honors, with a long leap of 25-10.75. Now, the Bulldogs are jumping outdoors.
At the Florida Relays earlier this month, Keys placed sixth in the long jump with a distance of 24-6.50, while Larry was fourth after jumping 25-0.50. In the 110-meter hurdles at that meet, Keys ran 13.73, good enough for seventh place; it was the sixth-fastest time in program history.
Keys and the Bulldogs are back in Gainesville this weekend for Florida's Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. Keys is scheduled to run the 110 hurdles and do the long jump; he thinks of himself as a hurdler as much as he does a jumper, as he should given his family history.
"It all kind of started ever since I was born," said Keys, from Katy, Texas.
Keys' father, Sean, ran the hurdles collegiately for McNeese State and Liberty. Keys' older brother, Clayton, ran the 400 hurdles and did the long jump at Nebraska, while sister Lanaye is a senior hurdler at Houston Christian.
"My dad built us some little hurdles and we would just be jumping over for fun. Nothing really important, just kids having fun," Keys said. "Because of my dad and my older brother and sister, I've always been around it. When my brother and sister started to compete, I wasn't old enough to do it, but I was always there at their track meets, running around."
No matter what he does in track and field, Keys said, he's always chasing after his siblings.
"Even if I know I'm doing well, I feel like I'll never be able to get up to their standards," he said. "I wouldn't be where I am without them."
Unlike so many other sports where greatness can be subjective, in track and field, like swimming, you are what the numbers say you are, whether it's time or distance.
"I love that about the sport," Keys said. "I can see exactly what I'm getting, what I'm aiming for and what I'm trying to beat."
At the SEC Indoors, Keys became the first Georgia track and field freshman since 2009 to win a conference title. He posted four lifetime bests during the meet and was the first Georgia man to win an SEC title in the long jump since Lester Benjamin did it in 1985.
Keys' collegiate career in the long jump and hurdles is still just getting started, and he's already an SEC champion. Who knows what's to come in the weeks, months and years ahead.
"I like doing both," he said," and I think I can do both at a very high level, so we'll see."
Staff Writer
Picture Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry shooting a 3-pointer, as he's done nearly 10,000 times in his long NBA career. Curry often lets loose from a few feet behind the line that is 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket everywhere but in the corners.
Now picture someone getting a running start and jumping from where Curry usually shoots, say 26 feet out, and landing underneath the basket. Got it? It seems like an absurdly long distance for a human to jump, doesn't it.
"It's always mind-blowing to me, as well," said Georgia freshman Jayden Keys, who won the SEC indoor long jump title in February with a leap of 26 feet. It was the 10th-best collegiate jump in the country during the indoor season and the third-longest in Bulldogs history.
"I feel like in the moment, it feels like I'm barely in the air," he said, "but then when I see how far it really is, it's always mind-blowing to me. It's like, I really jumped that far? You want to go measure that again?"
What is he thinking about as he soars through the air? Not much.
"I feel like when I think too much I don't execute the things that I do normally," he said.
At the NCAA Indoors last month, Keys' best jump was 24 feet, 3.75 inches, which was good enough for 13th place. Teammate Micah Larry placed fourth, and earned All-America honors, with a long leap of 25-10.75. Now, the Bulldogs are jumping outdoors.
At the Florida Relays earlier this month, Keys placed sixth in the long jump with a distance of 24-6.50, while Larry was fourth after jumping 25-0.50. In the 110-meter hurdles at that meet, Keys ran 13.73, good enough for seventh place; it was the sixth-fastest time in program history.
Keys and the Bulldogs are back in Gainesville this weekend for Florida's Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. Keys is scheduled to run the 110 hurdles and do the long jump; he thinks of himself as a hurdler as much as he does a jumper, as he should given his family history.
"It all kind of started ever since I was born," said Keys, from Katy, Texas.
Keys' father, Sean, ran the hurdles collegiately for McNeese State and Liberty. Keys' older brother, Clayton, ran the 400 hurdles and did the long jump at Nebraska, while sister Lanaye is a senior hurdler at Houston Christian.
"My dad built us some little hurdles and we would just be jumping over for fun. Nothing really important, just kids having fun," Keys said. "Because of my dad and my older brother and sister, I've always been around it. When my brother and sister started to compete, I wasn't old enough to do it, but I was always there at their track meets, running around."
No matter what he does in track and field, Keys said, he's always chasing after his siblings.
"Even if I know I'm doing well, I feel like I'll never be able to get up to their standards," he said. "I wouldn't be where I am without them."
Unlike so many other sports where greatness can be subjective, in track and field, like swimming, you are what the numbers say you are, whether it's time or distance.
"I love that about the sport," Keys said. "I can see exactly what I'm getting, what I'm aiming for and what I'm trying to beat."
At the SEC Indoors, Keys became the first Georgia track and field freshman since 2009 to win a conference title. He posted four lifetime bests during the meet and was the first Georgia man to win an SEC title in the long jump since Lester Benjamin did it in 1985.
Keys' collegiate career in the long jump and hurdles is still just getting started, and he's already an SEC champion. Who knows what's to come in the weeks, months and years ahead.
"I like doing both," he said," and I think I can do both at a very high level, so we'll see."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
Hurdles/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & FieldSunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Saturday, June 13