PHILADELPHIA – Three University of Pennsylvania football players are a step closer to the National Football League (NFL), as defensive back Jaden Key (New York Jets), defensive lineman Jake Heimlicher (New York Giants) and wide receiver Rory Starkey, Jr. (Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots) were invited to rookie minicamps early this week.
 
Jaden Key
Key had a strong career for the Quakers from 2019-23, appearing in 36 games over four seasons with 87 solo tackles, 142 total stops, four TFLs and a sack, along with three interceptions and 18 PBUs.
 
In 2023, Key made five starts over eight appearances and had a pair of interceptions—one in the opener at Colgate and the other vs. Cornell—with an additional pass breakup. He had 29 total tackles on 15 solo stops with 1.5 TFLs and a sack. Key made a season-high seven tackles vs. Georgetown and had four solo stops in back-to-back games to end the year at Harvard and against Princeton.
 
Key was a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2022, where he totaled 38 tackles (23 solos) with four pass breakups. He tallied eight tackles twice against Yale and Harvard. In 2021, Key started all 10 games at safety, finishing tied for the team lead in tackles (59) and ranked second in the Ivy League in pass breakups (9).
 
Jake Heimlicher
Heimlicher spent the 2023 season at UCLA, but in 2022 he had the best season of his career at Penn.
 
A co-captain for the second straight year, Heimlicher earned All-America honors from both the Associated Press (third team) and Phil Steele/DraftScout (fourth team) after earning first-team All-Ivy honors.
 
He was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award for FCS Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Ivy League in sacks (9.0), the most by a Quaker since 1999. The nine sacks were ranked 10th among FCS defenders at season's end, also leading his teammates with 13 TFLs for a loss of 51 yards.
 
Heimlicher was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks to open the season, the seventh Ivy player to accomplish the feat and first from Penn.
 
In 2021, he earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors after starting and appearing in all 10 games, finishing the year with 51 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 7.5 sacks and 12 hurries. He ranked fourth in the Ancient Eight in sacks and fifth in TFLs.
 
Appearing in 31 career games, Heimlicher registered 60 solo tackles and 112 total stops, adding 27.5 TFLs (for a loss of 122 yards) and 17.5 sacks, tied for sixth in program history.
 
Rory Starkey, Jr.
Starkey, Jr. was a mainstay at wideout in three years at Penn from 2018-22. In total, he played 27 games and caught 119 passes for 1,549 yards and 14 touchdowns.
 
In 2022, Starkey Jr. earned second-team All-Ivy honors after ending the year as the program's leading receiver, making 56 catches for 515 yards and four touchdowns.
 
 In 2021, he started eight games, finishing with 24 grabs, 391 yards and a team-high three TDs.
 
His sophomore season in 2019 was one for the ages, catching 39 passes for 643 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns, picking up a TD in each of the final five games of the year.
 
Starkey, Jr. spent last season at Samford, totaling 27 catches for 204 yards while playing 11 games for the Bulldogs.
 
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