The recruiting cycle for 2022 is in the books. The Ohio State Buckeyes had a consensus top-five class in the country and are considered the No. 1 class in the Big Ten by a wide margin. The defensive line hasn’t been as spectacular as we’ve seen lately, but Hero Kanu may be the missing piece.
It should be noted for those that are not familiar, recruiting classes are not like NFL draft classes. Many of these players will not see time as freshmen and will likely be redshirted. It’s also true that in the age of the transfer portal it is likely several players from this class will not be here at the end.
I wanted to at least take a dive into some of the top studs and we’ll start at the top of the recruiting class with defensive lineman, Hero Kanu and we have already previously dived into C.J. Hicks, Devin Brown, Kenyatta Jackson, Omari Abor, Kaleb Brown, Kyion Grayes, Gabe Powers, Tegra Tshabola and Caden Curry.
Strengths
Name: Hero Kanu
High School: Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
Height: 6-foot, 5-inches
Weight: 293-pounds
Four-Star Defensive Line
Hero Kanu is a great athlete with an explosive first step for a player of his size and this should allow him to dominate from the interior at the next level. Unlike most larger interior defensive linemen, Kanu is actually a high-effort player who rarely gives up on plays and has no issue running down the ball carrier on the other side of the field.
Kanu is an import from Germany who has only played football for two seasons, but there is no doubt in my mind that had he played his entire high school career, he would be ranked a five-star prospect. Just his pure size makes him an extremely interesting prospect as he is built extremely well and has the frame to pack on even more positive weight. His soccer background has clearly played a role in his extremely quick feet.
Weaknesses
As stated above, Kanu has only played two seasons of football in his entire life and he is far from a complete prospect…