Calijah Kancey (DL) / Pittsburgh / Redshirt Junior
6’0” / 280.0 (Unofficial)
2022 Stats: 11 games, 17 solo tackles, 14 assisted tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks
{Reference: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/calijah-kancey-1.html}
Awards: Unanimous All-American (2022), ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2022), 2x First-Team All-ACC (2021,2022)
Measurables: (AVAILABLE POST COMBINE/PRO DAY)
Games Watched: Tennessee vs Pittsburgh (2022), Pittsburgh vs West Virginia (2022)
PRO’S
Calijah Kancey has a very strong base. His first step is lightning fast. Can beat you with a variety of moves, whether it’s the bend in his hips to finesse by you, or the rip move he has to power by you, which could help him if teams want to move him to the outside. Plays violently and rips offensive lineman aside to make the play. Has strong hands and will take you down once he gets a hold of you.
CON’S
The first knock against Calijah is that he lacks “prototypical” size. With the lack of size there are concerns that bigger lineman will be able to latch on and not let him go. Being on the smaller size, he can lose sight of what is actually happening and looks lost on the field. Moves well north and south but looks choppy when moving east to west. With his size there are the immediate comparisons to future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald. May be seen as a tweener or a specific package type player player.
OVERALL
Calijah Kancey has all the tools to be a first round draft pick. If he was 3 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier he would be a lock in the 1st, however teams will have him slide on draft day due to his lack of size for a traditional Nose Tackle, however with the tools Kancey has I believe he could play inside and thrive, but if teams moved him to the outside Kancey really has the speed and dip that he could really wreck some offenses.
Completed by: Dennis Nowell (@Dnow_T2T), 02/22/23
Reviewed & edited: J. Clark, 02/22/23
