|
 Hero Kanu '22 was born in Germany and moved to the United States to play football. As a senior he was 1st Team All-Trinity League, 1st Team All-County, 1st Team All-State, All-CIF Division 1, and was a US Army All-American. He finishing his senior season with 55 tackles (34 solo, 21 asst.), 19 TFL, 9 sacks and 1 forced fumble. In his 2 year career with the Eagles he racked up 83 tackles (43 solo, 40 asst.), 28 TFL, 10.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery and 1 blocked Field Goal.
High School Accolades
- A Top-100 national and Top-10 California 5-star prospect currently with 26 offers from Division 1 Power Five conference schools. On July 9, officially narrowed down to ten: Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma, USC, Georgia, Washington and Texas. After the win over JSerra Catholic on October 1, announced that the list was whittled down to five with official visits either conducted or pending in near future: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Georgia and LSU
- Web feature profile on americanfootballinternational.com (AFI) / Hero Kanu: Europe’s First Five-Star NCAA Prospect? (Alex Malchow - 10/21/21)
- Collected six total tackles, including four for loss, one sack, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble in the win over Orange Lutheran in the regular season finale
- Ranked No. 1 defensive lineman in state by scorebooklive.com -- 10/15/21. Criteria = 2021 spring and fall statistics, film review, discussions with coaches and college interest
- Nominated for Cal-Hi Sports (calhisports.com) State and SoCal Defensive “Player of the Week” for performance in win at JSerra Catholic. Selected as a “State Stat Star of the Week”
- Web feature profile on rivals.com / California Preps: Four-Star DL Hero Kanu Ready to Announce Top List (Adam Gorney - 09/28/21)
- Enjoyed the most dominating game of his prep career in win at JSerra Catholic: 2 1/2 sacks, two tackles (both for loss), a blocked PAT and two quarterback hurries
- Experienced a solid game with two sacks, four tackles (two for loss) and one quarterback hurry in upset win over Los Alamitos
- Registered first full quarterback sack of the season in victory over Nolan Catholic
- Numerous profile and highlight videos on youtube.com - 2021
- Web feature profile on theathletic.com: Suh Comparisons: DT Goes from Geltendorf, Germany (pop: 5,600) to 10 Quick Scholarship Offers
- Web feature profile on: seismicsportscoverage.com: German Import @HeroKanu Is a Hero at Santa Margarita Catholic
- Television / Web feature interview on Bally’s Sports West / SoCal Prep Zone: “From Germany to So Cal High School Football”
- Web feature interview on Spectrum News 1: “Santa Margarita Eagles Build New Culture Centered on Diversity, Family”
- Newspaper / Web feature interview in Orange County Register: “Hero Kanu is a Marvel”
- scorebooklive.com Fall 2021 State Defensive Player of the Year nominee
- Recognized by PrepRedzone.com for one of the Top Defensive Performances for Week 2 vs. St. Augustine and Week 10 vs. Orange Lutheran
- Led team with three tackles-for-loss in win over St. Augustine (Also notched 1/2 sack)
- Featured in four 247Sports.com online highlight videos in 2021
- Ranked No. 1 Top Prospect for Class of 2022 by Europe’s Elite / europeselite.com
- Ranked No. 1 Prep Prospect from Germany for Class of 2021 / 2022 by Europe’s Elite / europeselite.com
- Ranked No. 9 football recruit in state for Class of 2022 by stacker.com
- MaxPreps.com Fall 2021 Preseason All-State Team - Defense (DL)
- Rivals.com Prospect Rankings: National: 80, Position: 8 and State: 8
- Ranked No. 6 by USA Today High School Sports in Top 25 Class of 2022 High School Players from California
- Ranked No. 6 by yahoo.com Sports in Top 25 Class of 2022 High School Players from California
- Ranked No. 7 prospect by ESPN / ESPN 300 in Class of 2022 High School Players from California
- Cal-Hi Sports Fall 2021 Preseason All-State First-Team - Defense (DL)
- Cal-Hi Sports Fall 2021 Preseason All-Orange County First-Team - Defense (DL)
- scorebooklive.com Fall 2021 Preseason All-State Team - Defense (DL)
- scorebooklive.com Fall 2021 Preseason All-CIF - Southern Section Team - Defense (DL)
- SI.com All-American Watch List - Top Interior Defensive Linemen - “Notable”
- Ranked No. 10 by Orange County Register of Hot-150 Top Impact Players for Fall 2021
- Ranked No. 1 defensive lineman in Orange County for Fall 2021 by the Orange County Register
- Ranked No. 12 prospect in the state and No. 189 in the nation on the On300 2022 (on3.com) Football List
- Los Angeles Times Top 10 Defensive Linemen to Watch in Fall 2021
- Los Angeles Times Prep Rally: “Big Men to Watch” in Fall 2021
- MaxPreps.com compares to Kanu to Cameron Hayward of the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Ranked No. 8 overall prospect in the state by MaxPreps.com
- Ranked No. 1 prospect in the state and No. 7 in the nation at defensive tackle by MaxPreps.com
- Ranked No. 9 overall prospect in the state and No. 1 at defensive tackle by PrepRedzone.com for Class of 2022
- Cal-Hi Sports Fall 2021 Preseason Hot 100 - No. 11 overall in state for Class of 2022
- Orange County Register’s - “Juniors Who Will Reign in the Fall of 2021”
- 2022 San Antonio Sports All-Star Football Game invitee -- January 8, 2022: Will announce college selection
- Spring 2021 All-Trinity First-Team League - Defense
- Ranked No. 8 defensive lineman in the state after Spring 2021 season by scorebooklive.com
- scorebooklive.com Spring 2021 All-State Football Team (DL)
- Cal-Hi Sports Spring 2021 All-State Second-Team - Defense (DL)
- Cal-Hi Sports Spring 2021 All-State First-Team - Defense - Junior Team (DL)
- MaxPreps.com Spring 2021 All-State Second-Team - Defense (DL)
- Los Angeles Times Spring 2021 All-Star High School First-Team - Defense (DL)
- Class of 2022 “Stock Risers” selection by PrepRedzone.com for California
- Cal-Hi Sports Winter 2021 Class of 2022 Top-100 recruit
|
Ohio State
- Photo Gallery
- Ohio State Bio
- Article: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility For Hero Kanu
SMCHS
- Photo Gallery
|
