In the current college football landscape, it's rare for a player to start and end with the same team.

However, over a five-year span, that's what Tennessee wide receiver Ramel Keyton has done. After joining the Vols in 2019, he is set to play his final collegiate game with the same program on New Years Day.

During his career, Keyton endured a coaching change mired in controversy. This seemingly didn't phase him, though, as he stuck through the turbulent times and saw another level of success under Josh Heupel.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

In 2022, Keyton played in every game. He stepped up for the injury riddled Cedric Tillman as a starter in multiple matches while going for 562 yards and five touchdowns on the season.

This included a game-defining grab against Florida just before half.

This year, Keyton started every game and put up 31 catches for career-highs 591 yards and six scores.

To cap off a successful stint in orange, he will take part in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa.

For Keyton, the perfect ending is one more win.

"It's been a great five years," said Keyton. "Plenty of ups and downs. The main thing is going out the right way. So, hopefully, we can go out with a (win) and then everything is going to be good."

While a win is most important, he also hopes to see personal success in the game.

Last year, in the Orange Bowl win over Clemson, Keyton had a solid outing. He caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown on the night.

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"I feel like its important for me, especially like my situation, to go out and have a good game," said Keyton. "Especially, like I'm doing special teams, things like that, make sure my performance is up to par. Perform at a great level, a high level that we do so we can go out there and win really. That's the main thing."

To prepare for the game, Keyton is taking part in unique bowl practices. While there is still time devoted to veterans, a good portion focuses on young players and newcomers as they adjust to the system.

This has only raised the intensity, though. As seniors and freshmen mix, friendly competition rises and brings out a new level of intensity.

"I feel like we're going to go out there and do what we need to do," said Keyton. "I feel like the intensity in practice, cause we have a lot of young people too, like competing and stuff like that. So, I feel like the intensity was a little higher. I feel like that's good, though. We just out there competing and it makes everybody better."

Tennessee is also preparing for the challenge in front of it, though.

On the other sideline, Iowa is bringing one of the country's best defenses. The Vols know they need to step up their level of play to rise to the occasion.

"It's kind of both," said Keyton. "We're prepping for Iowa, too. But at the same time, we have to look at the things we do. They do have a good defense. It's like, we're trying to find holes in the defense and how can we exploit those holes. I feel like it's going to be a good game."

Kick-off is set for Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. ET. Along with Keyton, it'll mark the end of the career for multiple offensive weapons. Notably, Joe Milton III, Jacob Warren, McCallan Castles, Jeremiah Crawford, Ollie Lane and Dee Williams are all out of eligibility.

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