Is Calijah Kancey the next Aaron Donald?
We're about to find out, at least in these beginning stages of his pro football career.
The Pitt defensive tackle stood out at the NFL Combine by surpassing his Pitt predecessor in the 40-yard dash earlier this month, dazzling with an official time of 4.67, one-one hundredth of a second faster than the Rams' future Hall of Famer and the fastest time for a defensive tackle since 2000.
.@Pitt_FB DT Calijah Kancey ran a 4.67 40, the fastest time in the #NFLCombine from a DT since 2003.
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 9, 2023
Safe to say, @kimmichex was pretty impressed 😎 @Ckancey8 pic.twitter.com/prEJtSQ0Gg
His athletic ability led him to a career-defining 2022 season after which he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American selection.
The question heading into Pitt's Pro Day on the South Side is: Can Kancey do it again?
Kancey will be the main attraction among 14 former Panthers showcasing their abilities in front of attending NFL scouts and personnel at Pitt's annual event at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The mock-draft world has gone off the rails with Kancey's displayed athleticism and career at Pitt, with NFL analyst Lance Zierlein even going as far as to compare the athletic tackle to Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle in his post-Combine evaluation.
"It's called athletic ability," Pat Narduzzi said of Kancey Tuesday on the South Side. "Not a lot of guys are at 280 (pounds) running a 4.6 (40-yard dash) and is twitchy as that guy is. He's different, OK? And you can stack all the D-tackles up across the country, that guy can play inside in the 1 (technique) or the 3, and the guy can play at a 4-high in a 3-4 defense. I think he can do a lot of different things. He's fast, he's athletic, and he's smart. Those are a lot of -- fast and smart are really good at 280. He's all of those. You're not going to have any character issues with the guy. I think the biggest problem I had with him is he had too many phones and too many bills."
Wednesday's event begins inside the weight room for the 225-pound bench press and individual measurements, and will move across the parking lot into the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex's indoor facility for the vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash, pro shuttle, three-cone drill, and individual position drills.
Kancey will be flanked at Pitt's Pro Day by:
• Israel Abanikanda, running back
• Deslin Alexandre, defensive lineman
• Habakkuk Baldonado, defensive lineman
• SirVocea Dennis, linebacker
• Owen Drexel, offensive lineman
• Erick Hallett II, defensive back
• Brandon Hill, defensive back
• Gabe Houy, offensive lineman
• Marcus Minor, offensive lineman
• Carter Warren, offensive lineman
• Jared Wayne, wide receiver
• Tylar Wiltz, linebacker
• John Petrishen, linebacker
Kancey earned a prospect grade of 6.39 at the NFL Combine, which equates to "will eventually be plus starter" within the evaluation system. NFL Next Gen Stats graded him at 82, or "good." Each of those grades ranked second to Georgia's Jalen Carter among defensive tackles.
Kancey measured in at 6-foot-1, 281 pounds with a 30 5/8-inch arm length and 9 1/8-inch hand width at the Combine. The 40-yard dash was the lone event in which he participated, which could indicate he will perform in the on-field, position drills at Pro Day.
The Miami native Kancey was Pitt's first unanimous All-American since ... you guessed it ... Donald in 2013, and was the first Pitt player since ... you guessed it ... Donald (2013) to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Kancey was the only player in Football Bowl Subdivision to be named a finalist for the Outland Trophy (nation’s best interior lineman) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year).
Last season, Kancey racked up 31 total tackles, 14.5 for loss, and 7.5 sacks as he missed the final two games with a shoulder injury. He led all FBS interior defensive lineman in tackles for loss.
Kancey is the 13th overall player on Pro Football Focus' Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 24th-ranked prospect with an average draft slotting of No. 34 overall (to Arizona).
"It all depends on draft day," Narduzzi said. "That’s where it comes down to: where they get drafted. I hope they’ve been somewhere training well and it will be fun to watch them. They’ve been around for a week, you guys have seen them at practice. Most of them have been around. I saw Owen Drexel today. He’s just bench pressing. That’s all he’s doing. He wants to get that bench in. He’s not going to run, which is probably a good thing. I don’t know if I want to watch him run. I love you, Owen.
"So we’ll find out what happens on draft day. And what they do when they get into a camp and minicamp and all of that. You look at the guys that we’ve had around, whether they’re fourth-rounder or a first-rounder, they’ve gone and played. Look at last year with Damarri (Mathis). He’s played all year out there in Denver. It comes down to draft day, and people make mistakes on draft day. It comes down to the player."
Here is a look at the rest of Pitt's Pro Day participants:
• Abanikanda sat out the NFL Combine as he was nursing a hamstring injury, pushing back his showcase to the Pro Day. Abanikanda won the ACC rushing title last season with 1,431 yards, which was hallmarked by his 320 yards and six touchdowns on 36 carries against Virginia Tech, surpassing Tony Dorsett's 303 yards as a program record for a single game, and tying Norman Budd's 112-year record with his touchdown total in that game.
He led the NCAA in scoring (11.6 points per game), total touchdowns (21), and rushing touchdowns (20) which finishing second in all-purpose yards (164.1 per game). His 130.1 rushing yards per game were seventh in the NCAA. He was named a first-team All-American by CBS Sports and ESPN, a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and was a third-team Associated Press All-American.
Abanikanda is the 170th overall player on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 135th-ranked prospect.
• Alexandre was not invited to the NFL Combine. Though his prospects as an NFL player do not sit too high, any locker room would be more than welcoming to Alexandre as a community figure. His "Fifth Down" Campaign in partnership with the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation has raised nearly $55,000 for children in Alexandre's birth town of Cap Haitien, Haiti.
Alexandre was named the 2022 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year after being a beacon of community service in and around Pittsburgh. He was also a member of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He is a two-time team captain and finished his career with 16.5 sacks, including 5.5 in nine games last season.
Alexandre is not ranked PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 488th-ranked prospect.
• Baldonado is a highly curious prospect along the defensive line. While it seemed like he could have stayed at Pitt for another season to gain some seasoning, Baldonado instead opted for the draft and was invited to the NFL Combine. He measured at 6-foot-4, 251 pounds and graded out to a 5.80, or an "average backup or special-teamer" and had an NFL Next Gen Stats rating of 63, which is considered average.
At the Combine, he ran a 4.78 40-yard dash, had a 35-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot broad jump, a 7.11-second 3-cone, a 4.44-second 20-yard shuttle, and recorded 21 bench press reps. He received an athleticism score of 70, which ranked 20th at the Combine and will be the primary component which hinges on how early he gets drafted.
Baldonado participated in the Shrine Bowl, in which he earned a quarterback hurry and a tackle for loss as his West team earned a 12-3 win over the East team.
He also got some pretty intensive instruction throughout that week's practices:
Via the @Patriots on Instagram…#Pitt DE Haba Baldonado getting some instruction from Bill Belichick at Shrine Bowl practice 👀 pic.twitter.com/3kE40x6boj
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) January 31, 2023
He registered 25 tackles, five for loss, two sacks, and two pass break-ups in nine games with Pitt last season.
Baldonado is the 240th overall player on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 163rd-ranked prospect.
• Dennis is intriguing for his play-making ability, his instincts, and his ability to play on special teams as a linebacker, which make him a fine prospect in the middle rounds of the draft. Where he might lack physically, he undoubtedly makes up for mentally, and he could be a prime project for any NFL coaching staff.
Dennis participated in the bench press at the NFL Combine, as he tallied 19 reps. He earned a prospect grade of 5.80, or an "average backup or special-teamer" and had an NFL Next Gen Stats rating of 62, which is considered average. he measured at 6-foot-2, 226 pounds. He ranked 11th among Combine linebackers with a production score of 67.
He was a team captain and a first-team All-ACC pick last season, after leading Pitt with 94 total tackles.
Dennis is the 227th overall player on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 232nd-ranked prospect.
• Drexel was limited to just six games last season after sustaining a knee injury in Week 2 against Tennessee. He was with Pitt for six seasons, including a redshirt year in 2017, and took over as the full-time center in 2021.
Drexel is not ranked PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
• Hallett started in 31 consecutive games to finish his career at Pitt, and was the MVP of the 2021 ACC Championship game in which he intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown. He was a second-team All-ACC pick after last season, and served as a team captain in the Sun Bowl.
Hallett is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
• Hill, just like Baldonado, boasts athleticism as his best trait for his position. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash for a safety at the NFL combine at 4.43 seconds, and his athleticism score of 81 checked in at fifth among Combine safeties. He measured at 5-foot-10 and 193 pounds, earned a prospect grade of 5.92 ("average backup or special teamer") and an NFL Next Gen Stats grade of 60 (average).
He was an honorable-mention All-ACC pick after last season.
Hill is the 252nd overall player on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 223rd-ranked prospect.
• Houy was limited to just eight games and five starts last season with an Achilles injury. He played in 48 games over five seasons after redshirting in 2017.
Houy is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
• Minor's best trait is his durability, and that alone could land him on a practice squad. He played in every snap last season, save for two in the blowout regular-season finale win over Miami.
Minor is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
• Warren would likely have greater stock as a prospect had it not been for his season-ending leg injury sustained in Week 4 against Rhode Island.
Still, he was invited to the NFL Combine, where he met with teams and was able to sell himself as a versatile lineman. Teams have high interest in Warren for his size and length at the tackles, but he might need some polishing of his technique in order to break in as a starter. His athleticism score of 71 from the NFL Combine ranked 17th among tested offensive tackles. He achieved a prospect grade of 6.16, "a good backup with the potential to develop into a starter," and the NFL Next Gen Stats rated him at 67, or "average."
He did not participate in any drills at the combine, but still measured at 6-foot-5, 311 points with a 35 3/8-inch arm length. Warren was a team captain in 2022 and was a second-team All-ACC pick in 2021.
Warren is the 189th overall player on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 175th-ranked prospect.
• Wayne took over as the No. 1 receiver last season after Jordan Addison departed, and all he did was post 60 catches for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns while being named second-team All-ACC.
Wayne is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, and the NFL Mock Draft database has him slotted as the 392nd-ranked prospect.
• Wiltz had a nice season after transferring from Football Championship Subdivision program Missouri State. He tallied 49 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble, and earned the start in the Sun Bowl.
Wiltz is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
• Petrishen is the lone participant which is not a departing senior off of Pitt's 2022 roster. Petrishen has been out of football since leaving Pitt after the 2021 ACC Championship season, and has enough interest from at least one NFL team for him to earn the right to test back in at the Pro Day. He will participate in all events except the bench press.
RUN IT BACK! I’ll see you guys tomorrow at Pro Day. Don’t gotta get ready if ya stay ready. #H2P LETS GOOO pic.twitter.com/tsztQV6HK1
— Johnny JP Petrishen (@jP5_ERA) March 28, 2023
Petrishen is not ranked on PFF's Big Board, nor is he mentioned within the NFL Mock Draft database.
