Calijah Kancey

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Records

The résumé is short because he is 25, but what's on it is real. Kancey is one of a handful of Pitt defenders ever to take ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and he did it in a season where a shoulder injury cost him two games, which makes the 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks look even better in hindsight. Consensus All-American status in 2022 put him in the same conversation as the best interior linemen in the country.The combine record is the other piece. A 4.67 40 at his weight was the fastest by a defensive tackle since at least 2003, and it reframed how evaluators talked about undersized three-techniques. Add a PFWA All-Rookie nod in 2023 and you have a career that is still climbing.

AwardsKancey's trophy case is built on his Pitt years: ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, consensus All-American that same season, first-team All-ACC in both 2021 and 2022, and third-team AP All-American in 2021. He added PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after his first NFL season in 2023.

Records & Feats

Fastest 40-yard dash by a defensive tackle since at least 2003

Combine Record·2023

Kancey ran a 4.67 at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine at roughly 280 pounds, the quickest recorded time by a defensive tackle in the tracked era.

Among Pitt's all-time leaders in tackles for loss by a defensive tackle

Career Milestone·2022

Finished his Pitt career with 34.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks across 41 games, among the best totals ever posted by a Panthers interior lineman.