Calijah Demetrius Kancey (born March 1, 2001) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where he was named the 2022 ACC Defensive Football Player of the Year. Kancey was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

Early years

Kancey attended

Miami Northwestern Senior High School Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public four-year high school located in Miami, Florida, United States History Academics Northwestern has long been known for its academic challenges; however, the school has shown an unprecedented ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Over his final two seasons in high school he had over 200 tackles combined. He committed to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

to play

College career

Kancey played in one game his freshman year at Pittsburgh in 2019, the

2019 Quick Lane Bowl The 2019 Quick Lane Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 6th edition of the Quick Lane Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 20 ...

, and took a

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. In 2020, he played in 11 games and started the final four games of the season. He recorded 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks. As a 14-game starter in 2021, Kancey had 35 tackles and seven sacks and was named a third-team All-American by the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

''. He returned to Pittsburgh as a starter in 2022 where he was named a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

. He finished the season with 31 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 14.5 tackles for loss which lead the nation for interior defenders.

Professional career

Kancey was selected by the

in the first round of the

with the 19th overall pick. Kancey was named Defensive Rookie of the Month for November of the 2023 season. After re-aggravating a calf injury during his debut in a Week 1, 20–17 win over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Kancey played his first full NFL game in a Week 6, 20–6 loss to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, during which he recorded six quarterback pressures and his first career sack. In his first career

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, Kancey recorded 4 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, helped contribute to a safety, and helped contribute to stopping not just one, but two Brotherly Shove attempts. The Buccaneers remain the only team to do so.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kancey, Calijah 2001 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive tackles Pittsburgh Panthers football players Players of American football from Miami Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni