Lavonte David On Calijah Kancey: “Immediate Impact”
June 15th, 2023
Lavonte David
Joe has been talking to players as they come off the practice fields at One Buc Palace this week after underwear football practice. Joe asked a few guys about one of their new defensive teammates.
That’s first-round pick Calijah Kancey. Bucs players’ eyes light up or you see them crack a smile when asked about Kancey. Early insider reviews are promising, albeit in underwear football without pads and no hitting.
Yesterday, Bucs legend Lavonte David was asked about the young man who went to the same high school in Miami as David. David summed up Kancey in two words.
“Immediate impact.”
David went on to say he believes if teams focus too much on Vita Vea, Kancey will put the fear of God in them.
“He’s a guy who can create mismatches, one-on-ones with offensive linemen,” David said. “And he can be disruptive in the run game.
“People always look for the Vita Vea’s [type players], but sometimes those small, compact guys can split double teams and get in the backfield and create havoc in the backfield.”
Joe doesn’t know why but Joe thought of a defensive version of Warrick Dunn listening to David. What was Dunn excellent at despite being a little guy? He knew how to expose small cracks in a defense.
Joe got the image of Kancey going up against trees, seeing a crack, and then exploding through it before linemen had a chance to adjust.
Even though it is underwear football and it is virtually impossible to get an idea of how a rookie lineman is practicing, there is something about Kancey’s preparation that caught Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ eye.
“He’s not just a lineman trying to line up and do things, he’s trying to understand everything on the defensive line and the offensive line so he knows how to play,” Bowles said. “I’m very impressed with that.”
Joe’s eager to see what Kancey can do against Ryan Jensen and new left guard Matt Feiler when the pads come on next month.
June 15th, 2023 at 6:00 am
This year seems likely to be a bust but watching calijah Kancey in his rookie year is worth big coin. From what I gather the center is not even a split second from snapping the ball with head just coming up and he’s got Kancey in his grill with arms hands and attitude and pushing him back. Heard this everywhere, he lives in the backfield. the key is pairing him up with a nose that has to be doubled and we got that with Vea and greg gaines. We are not apt to win much but these individual battles are what I love. Along with him, we have Sirvocea Denis and that was how he operated too, quick with pressure. Love that stuff.
June 15th, 2023 at 6:24 am
If he is anything close to Aaron Donald, then Kancey will be the steal of the draft.
June 15th, 2023 at 6:56 am
Kancey better not blow out Jensen’s knee. That’s all.
June 15th, 2023 at 7:01 am
Like Joe likes to say ..a lot, it’s underwear football.
June 15th, 2023 at 8:34 am
If he and the D-Line can ball out, it’s going to make watching Bucs games so much more enjoyable.
June 15th, 2023 at 8:54 am
CALIJAH KANCEY IS GOING TO BE AWESOME FOR US ! HE WILL MAKE THE #94 REMEMBERED HERE IN TAMPA & THE NFL ( HE’S GOT HALL OF FAME WRITTEN ALL OVER HIM )
June 15th, 2023 at 8:56 am
I can imagine being younger and faster across the DL we should see an uptick in the stunts and games played by our front.
June 15th, 2023 at 9:02 am
I PREDICT HE WILL WIN THE DEACON JONES AWARD HIS ROOKIE SEASON FOR BEST DEFENSIVE LINEMAN IN THE NFL & POSSIBLY DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR ! I SEE SOMETHING REAL SPECIAL IN THIS YOUNG MAN..
June 15th, 2023 at 11:55 am
I agree Tommy.
I think every year there is a special draftee like Micah Parsons falling into the lap of Dallas, remember they wanted the corner that year and somebody jumped them for I believe Surtain so they traded back and got Parsons still.
Kancey is undersized so teams LOOKED past him.
Big Mistake.
June 15th, 2023 at 11:55 am
Tommy your post are giving me dyslexia. Can you maybe use bolder caps?
June 15th, 2023 at 12:22 pm
Kancey is 6’1 290lbs
Sapp was 6’2 300lbs
If anyone has seen both live (Joe) what’s the comparison?
June 15th, 2023 at 12:24 pm
Joe doesn’t walk around with a tape measure. 🙂
Let’s watch Kancey in pads before we make any proclamations. It is impossible to get any sort of reading from a lineman in underwear football.
June 15th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
Veterans know the real deal when they see it, even in underwear football. Sounds promising
June 15th, 2023 at 8:43 pm
Yeah if we weren’t able to get Darnell Wright Kancey would’ve been my choice after that.