Games Watched: Tennessee (2021), Clemson (2021), Western Kentucky (2021) Best Game: Tennessee
Worst Game: N/A
Photo Credit: Pitt Athletics
Explosiveness: Kancey displays plenty of first-step explosiveness which helps create plenty of natural leverage as a pass rusher. He shows good snap anticipation and can shoot out his stance with low pad level which helps play as a gap penetrator in the run game. He plays very controlled with his body through his initial movements and is arguably his best trait.
Pad Level/Leverage: Kancey is consistent with his pad level given his squatty build. He can fire out quickly from his stance and play low to generate natural leverage when attacking his opponents. When working from an outside track, he’ll struggle to play low in his pads and will expose his chest to offensive tackles.
Pass Rush Plan: Kancey has plenty of pass rush moves to work with, using the speed-to-power, two hand swipe but makes his money with the swim-move against interior offensive linemen. He shows plenty of hand quickness which allows him to finesse opponents. He’s used plenty in the stunt/twist game due to his above-average athleticism and uses those traits to dial up pressure on the quarterback.
Run Defense: Kancey is a promising run defender due to his great hand usage and discipline with gap integrity. He has some nice quickness to his hands when executing the swim, which is a move he deploys quite frequently. He can struggle to keep his head up at the point of attack, and will sometimes duck his eyes into the pads of his opponents on run fits. This will cause him to miss obvious runs through his gaps and he’ll fail to make a play. Despite this, Kancey shows great backside pursuit skills and has little trouble running down opponents. When his eyes are up, he can easily diagnose run plays and make the necessary adjustments for plays on the ball carrier.
Versatility: Kancey is a three-technique by trade and will sometimes drop into the one-technique spot on pass rushing downs. He has the speed, bend and hand usage to win from an outside track so playing him at five-technique is not out of the question.
Strength/Power: Kancey lacks elite strength for a defensive tackle but can create plenty of natural power through his low center of gravity. He can consistently convert first step quickness to leverage at the point of attack and his quick hands allow him to divert from blocks. He’ll struggle with double teams and will sometimes be knocked over at the top of his rush because of his lack of benchmark strength.
Block Shedding: Despite his size, Kancey shows great ability to quickly stack and shed from blocks. His hand power, while not elite, still packs plenty of punch and can stunt offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. However, he can struggle to work off of blocks against bigger offensive linemen who beat him to the spot.
Hand Usage: Kancey has great hand usage and displays plenty of moves to win at the point of attack. His rush repertoire is already good, winning predominately with swipes and arm over moves. Against the run, Kancey can expertly get great placement from a good position to direct his way into the backfield. Kancey can make up for a lack of elite strength due to his hand usage.
Flexibility: Kancey has good flexibility overall, making good use of his ankle flexion to be an asset in the stunt/twist game. Kancey is able to use his first-step quickness to create great upfield mobility that allows to quickly move from gap-to-gap.
Gap Shooting: Kancey’s best asset other than his hand usage is how he manages to penetrate gaps in run defence. When he has his eyes up, Kancey does a great good job reading spacing in the offensive line and heading off his opponents with quickness. He lacks elite arm length to bully his way through the line so must maintain low pad level with good ID skills.
Summary: Calijah Kancey is a player you can win with due to his high level athleticism, hand usage and first step quickness. In spite of his size concerns, Kancey does a great job maintaining leverage at the point of attack and winning versus larger opponents due to his quick, accurate hands. He could add more strength and improve his field vision to better set a physical edge. Kancey projects as a three-technique in an attacking 4–3 front.
Grade: 80/100- Day 1Report Author: Nick Price, Positional Scout
Twitter: @PriceCheck3