bobby kanka
Good afternoon national champs. The offseason is upon us, which means it's time to have a recruiting board.
What this is: This is our sticky recruiting board for 2025. When Alex or I finish a major update (happens quarterly-ish), it will be reposted to the top of the site. Otherwise it will be under the "Useful Stuff" tab.
The Guys:
Icon | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Blue | Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits. |
| Happy Teeth | Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk. |
| Data | Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet. |
| Nefarious Eduardo | Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly, popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school, or Michigan's taking a swing . |
| Hopeful Hank | Cousin of Sad Josh. Category of player without strong competition but legitimate Michigan interest. |
| Sad Josh | The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something. |
| Tommy Torpor | Player Michigan wanted, but who told Michigan he's going elsewhere, or they got someone else, so they've cut off their pursuit. |
Players are ordered by our best guess at their priority level and likelihood of coming. Schools listed are prioritized by threat, with those in parentheses an as-yet unreciprocated favorite.
A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. If you want a clearer picture than what can be gleaned from free browsing, subscribe to the services.
A Note on Needs and Scholarship Numbers: We're largely ignoring the 85-man limit these days because NIL can cover the cost of attendance for any player, e.g. a transfer, not subject to the rules governing scholarships for recruits who go through the process (see "blueshirting"). Expect Michigan's class to be between 23 and 28 players as usual.
[AFTER THE JUMP: Let's restart.]
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]
The Michigan Wolverines picked up a commitment today from 2025 in-state DL recruit Bobby Kanka:
💙〽️ichigan 〽️an💛 #committed #home @UMichFootball @FootballHowell @CoachMikeElston @AKarsch_UM @CoachJim4UM @AllenTrieu @SamWebb77 @Rivals_Clint @GHamilton_On3 @espn pic.twitter.com/VLxCHwzx5w
— Bobby Kanka (@BobbyKanka1) August 1, 2023
Kanka is a 4* to Rivals and a 3* to 247, while he has not been rated by either On3 or ESPN yet. It's still early in the 2025 cycle and full national rankings haven't been completely put together at this time. He's from Pinckney, MI, originally but plays in Howell for Howell HS, listed at 6'4", 263 lbs. The early sense is that Kanka is pegged to be a 3Tech prospect on Mike Elston's defensive line. Michigan had been courting Kanka for some time with MSU as the other main suitor, so there is little surprise that this one got done as quickly as it did. Kanka is now the 3rd commit in Michigan's 2025 class, joining CB Chris Ewald and LB Mantrez Walker, both 4*s, though Walker's recruitment is far from over despite the commitment.
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