Calijah Kancey has drawn lofty comparisons in his first two years with the Pitt Panthers since taking the field – some people daring to mention NFL all-pro Aaron Donald. Maybe it’s just the uniform, but maybe it’s more. Kancey is a technical fighter with similar size to the all pro and overall a very similar skillset. However, his lack of length may prove to limit his effectiveness in the trenches as the lack of separation he generates could be due to shorter arms.

Calijah Kancey

3-4 DE – Pittsburgh Panthers

HT: 5116
WT: 280
Year: Super Redshirt Sophomore
High School: Northwestern (Miami, FL)
Rating: 3-star (0.8614)

Projected Draft Grade: Potential Starter

Projection: 3rd/4th Round

Calijah Kancey scouting notes

Pros:

• Great speed for his size. 
• Excellent lateral quickness. Is a problem trying to deal with him at the line. Smaller than linemen and has no problem getting under their pads. 
• Good upper body strength to get push and disrupt the mechanics of the blocker.
• Strong lower body drive to push the blocker back, especially effective in 1v1 situations. 
• Incredibly powerful and quick. 
• Strong first step. Very disruptive. Explosive defensive tackle. 
• Has good strength at his hands, but his lack of length will prevent him from getting off of blocks consistently. 
• Rangy defensive tackle who isn’t afraid to chase a play to the sideline. 
• Kancey has been a consistent pass rusher all of his career. He Generated 64 pressures in his first two seasons, jumped from 2 to 9 sacks from 2020 to 2021, and then steady at 8 sacks in 2022.

Cons:

• Didn’t draw many double teams throughout his reps. 
• Struggled with double teams mostly. 
• Would like to see better hand placement. He has so much potential and flashes it with his hand fighting but can’t consistently get to the right places. Goes into every rep with a plan in place. 
• Slow recognition. Doesn’t stay on with the play well.