The final 2025 Hello yet to be written is in-state DT Bobby Kanka. A Howell, Michigan, native, Kanka was the third player in the 2025 class but is now the longest tenured, as Chris Ewald recently decommitted, following Mantrez Walker (who your author forgot about on first draft). The tackle is among the best players in Michigan, so let's get to know the only current commit on the defensive side of the ball: 

 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'4/255	On3: 6'4/263	Rivals: 6'5/260	ESPN: 6'4/270
3*, 89, NR Ovr #31 DL, #4 MI	3*, 89, NR Ovr #35 DL, #4 MI	4*, 5.8, #249 Ovr #18 SDE, #3 MI	no rating
4.11	4.09	4.04	n/a
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.8933, #394 Ovr #35 DL, #5 MI	3*, 89.4, #321 Ovr #36 DL, #5 MI	4*, #348/805 Ovr #28/71 DTs since '90
3.93	3.94	4.06

Kanka was unranked when he committed in August but has since been placed on the boards of three of the four services. He lacks a ranking at ESPN (surprise, surprise) but is a 3* to On3 and 247, while a 4* to Rivals. Both the 247 Composite and the On3 consensus rankings place Kanka in the zone we typically refer to as 3.5* territory. According to Seth's database on all defensive tackles recruited since 1990, Kanka ranks 28th out of 71. The four sites variously list his weight from 255 to 270, which is an important note when we talk about what position he may play in college. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: made to play at MIchigan]

 

SCOUTING 

As usual, we can start with EJ Holland of On3's quick takes from when Kanka committed. EJ likened Kanka to Michigan's previous two rather anonymous DT prospects in the 2023 and 2024 classes, Brooks Bahr and Ted Hammond ($): 

While Kanka isn’t overly athletic and doesn’t possess a high ceiling, he is safe take at the position. Yes, he’s a little ‘boring,’ but so are Bahr and Hammond. Like I wrote with both of them, Michigan fans will be happy to have them on the roster in a few years. The same can be said about Kanka. 

EJ saw Kanka back when he was a freshman at an Under Armour camp in Columbus and liked what he saw. Kanka has bulked up since then and thinks more bulking will be needed: 

He should play at around 290-300 pounds during his time in Ann Arbor. Kanka does show power on film but can continue to build on that under U-M strength coach Ben Herbert. I like his motor and the fact that he sometimes lines up in a foot five and a nine. He’s at his best with his hand in the dirt, though. Kanka, for the most part, is technically sound and plays the run well

On3's director of scouting and rankings, Charles Power, gave his own take on Kanka in a separate article ($). Power likes Kanka's variety of skills and likes his progress bulking up: 

You just love Bobby Kanka‘s toughness and physicality. He plays with a really high energy level on both sides of the ball. He’s very active and finds ways to affect the game. He’s active as a pass rusher, strong against the run, gets off blocks, sets the edge and makes a bunch of plays ... He looks to have gotten bigger and more athletic over the past year, which is encouraging

His primary area of improvement for Kanka was continued bulking up, which he noted will answer more questions about Kanka's physical upside in college. Interestingly, Power projects Kanka as a strongside defensive end who defends the run and can rush the passer. That differs from Rivals' Lucas Reimink, who sees Kanka eventually bulking up to defensive tackle ($). Reimink likes Kanka's versatility, but sees him as a DT in part because he's not much of a speed rusher: 

(Kanka) doesn’t have much of a speed move, nor is he ever likely to be a big speed threat based on his merely solid COD ability. With his good hand use, he does show the ability to develop a solid swim or rip move that would help to diversify his pass-rush arsenal but will need to be worked on once he enters a college program. 

Right now Kanka has been overpowering OL, but Reimink stresses the need to sharpen up Kanka's pass rush moves. Good thing Mike Elston is a DL coach known for player development. Reimink liked Kanka's run defense abilities: 

Against the run, Kanka shows good mental processing speed to read the run quickly and react accordingly. He uses his solid acceleration to get off the ball on time and his good physical strength to push the opposing blocker into the backfile and create penetration ... If the ball carrier comes at him, he shows good awareness and good body control to shed the blocker and make a play on the ball carrier.  

Everyone seems to like Kanka's tenacity and the way he plays the game, including his father, Tom. In an MLive article by Friend of MGoBlog Ryan Zuke, it's clear that Bobby Kanka is a Football Guy, of the kind Jim Harbaugh likes: 

“He tells us on numerous occasions he will never be outworked,” Tom Kanka said. 

... 

However, he never pushed Bobby to play football. That happened organically as Bobby would regularly turn on replays of old college and NFL games on TV.

“I knew back then he had the acumen for it because he had been asking me questions 100-year-olds normally wouldn’t be asking,” Tom said. “‘Why is this guy dropping back in coverage? Who is in the flats?’ I have been a coach my whole life and I’m going, ‘Wow, he had a very obvious football IQ early on.’”

Later in the article, Zuke asserts that "Bobby is just as passionate about the weight room." Oh yeah, this is a Michigan Football kid. The article also includes an assessment from Kanka's HS coach Brian Lewis: 

“He is a really long kid, and then he has athleticism to boot and has a pretty good little burst,” Lewis said. “He’s got to improve on the burst and continue to do that, have to have some intent with that, but he’s a long kid, he’s rangy, he can make plays.

If you recall Mike Elston's preferences for long defensive tackles, this one starts to make a lot of sense. 

OFFERS 

Kanka doesn't have a ton of offers, having shut down his recruitment by picking in-state Michigan before his junior season even started, but it's a usual grab bag of Midwestern schools. Michigan/MSU/Minnesota/PSU/Northwestern out of the B1G, Miami (OH), Bowling Green, Toledo, and CMU out of the MAC, Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse, and Tennessee from the other Power 5 schools. Kanka was described by EJ as one who "bleeds Maize and Blue" and grew up a Michigan fan, so this wasn't a super exciting recruitment. As you'd expect given the previous sentence, Kanka's Michigan commitment is firm regardless of Harbaugh leaving ($).

HIGH SCHOOL 

Kanka attends Howell High School in Howell, Michigan, some 30 miles north of Ann Arbor out in Livingston County. A big high school, Howell had an enrollment of over 2,000 students in the 2020-21 school year, with its football team competing in Division 1 with all the big dogs, Belleville, Rochester Adams, West Bloomfield, etc. Unfortunately, Howell hasn't been very good the past couple seasons, last posting a winning season in 2021, Kanka's freshman season. However, Kanka wasn't at Howell that year, having competed for nearby Pickney High School. In terms of on-field success, it's unclear if that was a great idea because MaxPreps lists Howell at 7-11 over the two seasons Kanka has played for the team. Pickney hasn't done any better, finishing 0-9 this past season(!), so no matter where Kanka has been, he hasn't been able to play for a famed powerhouse high school. 

STATS 

Zach Libby of On3 did a roundup of stats on Michigan commits back in December and listed Kanka at 38 total tackles, 9 for a loss, 8 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

No 40 time found. 

VIDEO 

Junior year highlights from Kanka's Hudl page: 

ETC 

Also plays tight end on offense. Close friend of 2024 DL commit Ted Hammond ($). Excellent student with reported 3.97 GPA. Father played college football at Hillsdale College and had a brief stint in the NFL before going into coaching. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Kanka seems like a solid defensive line prospect to take. As a diehard Michigan fan growing up, he was likely going to commit as soon as the Wolverines wanted him to and his current profile certainly merits inclusion in a Michigan recruiting class. He appears to be a hard-working, blue collar sort of player who ought to be an easy culture fit in the sort of program that Michigan has built and will look to maintain under (presumed) new head coach Sherrone Moore.

As for the player himself, Kanka will need to continue bulking up if he is to play defensive tackle, which is the presumption given that Kanka told 247 that the program sees him around 300 lbs. in a similar role to Kris Jenkins. He doesn't seem to possess freakish athleticism or speed, but is a well-rounded prospect with good strength and physicality, adept as a pass-rusher and in run defense at the HS level. He will need the pass rushing skills to be sharpened up while he continues to be Herbertized (assuming Herbert is still at Michigan) in his first few years on campus, but after that projects as a solid rotational defensive tackle who grows into a possible starter down the line. Mike Elston appears to have a bit of a mold and Kanka fits that mold. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Kanka is the sole defensive commit in the 2025 class. Not a ton else to say other than that, as Michigan is still in the process of getting the ball rolling on recruiting for '25, especially with the ongoing coaching staff change. The targets and priorities will come more into focus once there is clarity on who Michigan's defensive coordinator is, and what the rest of the defensive staff looks like.