Inside The Panthers

Calijah Kancey Active for First NFL Start

Former Pitt Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is in the lineup for the Buccaneers.

Stephen Thompson

Calijah Kancey Active for First NFL Start
Calijah Kancey Active for First NFL Start /
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PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey had been sidelined with a calf injury for most of his first training camp in the NFL, but the 2023 first-round pick has made a full recovery in time for Week 1. 

Kancey, the third former Panther to be drafted in the first round over the past two years, is active for Tampa Bay's season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, according to a report from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, and is expected to start at defensive tackle. 

Before he shattered all-time records with his speed and quickness at the NFL Combine and Pitt's Pro Day, Kancey was a unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year this past season after recording 31 tackles, 14.5 for a loss and 7.5 sacks in 11 games this year.

He suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the regular season finale and sidelined him for the Sun Bowl against No. 18 UCLA, but Kancey still led the country's interior defensive linemen in tackles for loss.

Tampa Bay made him the fourth defensive lineman and fifth defensive player taken in the 2023 Draft when they picked him up with the 19th overall pick. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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