While waiting for the post-season draft sheets, the editorial staff of DNA of Sports offers you, every Tuesday, a spotlight on the future nuggets who will join the NFL in 2023.
Calijah Kancey
Born March 1, 2001 in Miami, Florida
1m83 for 127 kilos
Defensive tackle, Pittsburgh, junior
“Small but strong”, as an 80s ad said: 14 tackles for losses in 10 games in 2022! 3 sacks this Saturday, November 12 against Virginia, bringing his total to 7 this season and 14 in two seasons.
If I were a quality: athletic
How to compensate for a size deficit compared to your opponents? Kinetic energy is the energy acquired by a body when it moves: a powerful and very agile player, its center of gravity lower than those of its adversaries, makes it an impossible player to contain.
With his compact physique and speed, he’s like a bowling ball knocking down pins: strike!
If I were a stat: 34 tackles for losses
The role of a defense is to stop the attack. And if in addition, she can make him lose yards on the drive then it’s even better. Putting down a runner, even before he crosses the line of engagement, sends a strong signal to the adversaries. Ditto when the quarterback finds himself on the ground: this changes the dynamics of an opposing offensive series.
If I were a defect: template
With a player presenting this size for his position, the university production is not sufficient.
In 2013, Aaron Donald signed 11 sacks in 13 NCAA games! 63 tackles for losses over his three seasons as a starter! This should have alerted the NFL staffs. Considered a 2nd round pick after the college season, Aaron Donald had again raised his rating during the all-important Senior Bowl.
This did not prevent twelve franchises (including the Rams) from passing him during the 2014 draft. Blake Bortles, Justin Gilbert or Eric Ebron were chosen before him! Why ? Only one answer: doubts about his size for this position.
For the 2023 draft, Calijah Kancey will receive absolutely the same reserves.
If I were a context: Pitt as a defensive reference
Sometimes a college football program seems specialized in one position: like cornerbacks at LSU or tight ends at Notre Dame.
In the 2000s, this college, which shares the newly named Acrisure Stadium with the Steelers, was best known for training players like LeSean McCoy (RB) and Larry Fitzgerald (WR) on offense. It continues with players like Kenny Pickett (Steelers) and James Conner (Cardinals) but for a few years, and the arrival of defensive coordinator Randy Bates, it is above all through his defense that this university stands out. Currently, eleven Pitt-trained defensemen are in an NFL roster.
2022 is no exception to the rule and Calijah Kancey, if he is the nugget of the lot, is not alone: from defensive ends Habakkuk Baldonado and Deslin Alexandre to cornerbacks AJ Woods and MJ Devonshire. Another player with a future in the NFL: linebacker Sirvocea Dennis.
If I was an NFL player: Aaron Donald (Rams)
Let’s be clear: Aaron Donald is one of the best defensemen in history, with a capital H, in the NFL. This section is therefore intended to just give an image, a style of play, to readers who do not follow university football. But how to escape this comparison?
Same size and playing for the same university, Calijah Kancey also offers a very punchy style of play! Far from the imposing sizes of Dexter Lawrence (Giants) and Jeffery Simmons (Titans), he is a defensive tackle more in the style of Ed Oliver (Bills) or…Aaron Donald (Rams).
If I was a draft pick: 20-40
His atypical physique makes him a challenge. Luckily, several franchises will have two picks in the 1st round of the 2023 draft. And all of them with a need inside the defensive line: Texans, Seahawks, Eagles and Lions. By evaluating the benefit/risk balance: you might as well give it a try when you have another choice.
If I were an NFL team: Houston Texans
The Texans could reinvigorate their team with a quarterback on offense and an impact player on defense. Lovie Smith’s system empowers defensive line players: only 18% blitz usage! In other words, the four players are very rarely supported during their fights in the trenches.
With his quality to create disorder, on both sides of the line of commitment, Calijah Kancey would be a valuable addition in Texas.
