Interview: Class of 2017 Sierra Canyon OL/DL showed 5-star potential during sophomore season

Written by Ryan Wright

All college coaches and fans are on the lookout for the next best thing in recruiting. One who showed unlimited potential during his sophomore season for Sierra Canyon was offensive lineman/defensive lineman Kanan Ray.

Ray was a 6’4”, 260 pound, force for the Trailblazers last season. The two-way starter already has a bench press in the 300 pound range and a squat max that goes north to 500 pounds. Something even more telling of his early playing abilities – he moves really well for his size. His latest camp 40-yard dash time was 5.2.

All in all he is just an athletic beast that still has two years of maturation ahead of him on the high school gridiron.

With the help of their emerging star, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) rushed for over 3,300 yards and passed for nearly 2,600 yards posting an 11-2 season in 2014. Throughout the season one can see Ray’s motor running play after play on both sides of the ball but on offense, lining up at tackle, he already has that grittiness that makes linemen good – he’s mean and tough. He locks onto the defender and then looks for a way to pile-drive him into the ground to send a message. On defense, lining up at defensive end and sometimes at tackle, he just gets after it using his size and strength to be disruptive and make plays.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Kanan to find out some of the lessons learned in his first season as a two-way starter, what he has been doing in the offseason to prepare for his junior campaign, and I got an update on the colleges already setting up relationships with this emerging star.

Kanan, 2014 was your first year as a full season two-way starter. Looking back what were some of the things you learned from your sophomore season?

“I started one game as a freshman but had an injury that held me out of a couple of games. The older guys really helped me out. We had some D-I guys on the team. I got used to the varsity speed real quick. I feel like I am step ahead of everyone that is just starting as a junior because I already have a year of playing under my belt.”

What are you better prepared for this year that you were unprepared for last year as a starter?

“The speed of the game was a lot different coming from JV to varsity. You start picking up on things like the way someone lines up. I started picking up on that a lot better. I’ll be better prepared for everything. It was a big learning process my sophomore year. It was a little tough for me because it was a whole other speed but as the season went on I felt like I progressed well with the speed and physicality of it all. Coming up next year I’ll be prepared for everything that is coming at me because last year I was a little bit unsure and the first game was tough. Now I am a step ahead and ready for everything that is coming at me.”

Of the two positions, offensive tackle and defensive end, which of the positions do you like better?

“Defense has always been my main position. I was a linebacker when I was younger. As I started getting bigger I started playing D-line. As I got bigger my coaches thought offensive tackle was best position for me. Offensive tackle is now my favorite position.”

Did you earn any individual honors at the end of last year?

“Yeah, I won Second-Team All-League for offensive tackle.”

Impressive. What have you been doing in the offseason to prepare for your junior year?

“I started with a program called Proactive Sports Performance. They have a lot of NFL guys like Clay Matthews (Green Bay Packers) and Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers) there. I’ve been training there a few times a week and training with my team. I go to the park to do footwork. Footwork is huge for me. I try a few times a week to go to the park to work on my footwork. I have some weights at my home and I lift at school, just everyday trying to get better and better.”

How does Sierra Canyon look heading into the upcoming season?

“We look really good. We are a small school but that is good for us cause a lot of the kids starting next year have been playing since their freshman year. We have a real good team bond. Last year we had (wide receiver) Isaiah Renfro who is going to Washington. He was our go-to guy. When we needed a play we would look to him.

“This year we will play more as a team than we did last year. We don’t have that one player who will do it all for us. Everyone around us is good. I think we’ll play more as a team. We have a running back, Bobby Cole, who is really good. You’ll be hearing about him. We have two quarterbacks who both started last year (Kohl Hollinquest and Niko Harris) and we have a lot of guys coming back. I’m really excited about the upcoming year.”

What are your strengths on the field at offensive tackle?

“My speed, my footwork, and my technique are probably what is best about my game. I’m strong too. Footwork, you see a lot of guys that are big and strong but they have no footwork. I got to some of these camps and these guys are 300 pounds and you’re able to work them because they don’t have the footwork. Me, I’ve always done my footwork. That is just the biggest part for me. I think that is the best part of my game.”

How many pancake blocks did you get last season?

“To be honest I don’t really know that, maybe 3-4 a game somewhere around that.”

What are your strengths on the field at defensive end?

“My technique. We have a great coach (Mark Shihabi) who has been working with a lot of great schools He’s been teaching me since Day 1 everything. He’s coached Clay Matthews and some other NFL guys. So technique first of all is a strength of mine on the defensive line. My speed too, because I am a pretty fast guy. I get mismatches a lot. Say it’s a bigger guy lined up across from me I’ll use my speed to beat him. If it’s a smaller guy I’ll use my strength to beat him. I create mismatches there.”

How many tackles did you end up with last season?

“I think I had 8.5 sacks. I missed two games. I’m not sure how many tackles I had but I am pretty sure I had 8.5 sacks.”

What are your goals for the 2015 football season?

“From a team standpoint, to go undefeated and win a state championship. Winning a state championship is always the ultimate goal. My personal goals are to win Lineman of the Year for our conference, and I’ll always fight for MVP. Hopefully have a good junior year and get my first offer.”

That is a good transition point. You mentioned getting your first offer. Which schools are recruiting you right now?

“Yeah, there are a few. Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington State would be the three biggest (schools) that I’ve been hearing from. I’ve gone to their camps and visited their schools and stuff like that.”

You’ve unofficially visited all three so far?

“I’ve unofficially visited Arizona and Arizona State. I haven’t had a chance to go up to Washington yet.”

I have you unofficially visited any other schools that are closer to you like UCLA or USC?

“When I was a freshman, my family is from Tennessee (Nashville), I unofficially visited Tennessee. I hope to go to USC and UCLA and visit there too.”

How did the Arizona State visit go?

“It went real well. I liked it a lot. One of their O-line coaches showed us around. I went there with my teammate Bobby Cole. It was really cool. They are doing a lot of building. They said if I were to go there by my freshman year they would have all new facilities that are top of the line and best in the Pac-12. Their stadium was cool and the guys there were cool. I felt like I’d fit in well. All the coaches that I met were really nice guys.”

What about your trip to Arizona? How did that go?

“That went really well. Their receivers coach (Tony Dews) I had met him at our school a couple of times, he was a really cool guy. I loved it over there. They have great facilities, great weight room, and everything about it I kind of loved. I liked it a lot.”

How has the dialogue gone with the various college coaches? Has everything been kept at a superficial getting to know you level or have the coaches started telling you what they like about your skill set?

“They told me they like my athleticism from an offensive tackle standpoint. They can’t do too much talking to me until Sept. 1. Basically they’ve just said they like how athletic I am, they like my weight and height, and they think I move well. They think my footwork is good. That’s about it on what they’ve been telling me they like about me.”

What camps have you been to during the offseason?

“Yeah, I went to the University of Arizona camp, Washington State’s camp, UCLA’s, and I went to the B2G Elite.”

How did the UCLA camp go for you?

“It went really well. I liked it a lot up there. It’s about a 40 minute drive up there. I performed really well. They have been one of my favorite schools growing up too. That was definitely one of my best camps I’ve ever gone to performance wise.”

What about the Washington State camp? How did that go?

“It was good. It was up in the Redlands and it was hot. The competition was pretty good up there. I thought I performed well. The people that I went with – we had to leave early so I did not get to do the one-on-ones. I did do the drills. The coach said he really liked me and that he would keep recruiting me. One of our best players from last year, Hunter Mattox, is up there right now playing defensive end. He’s putting in the word for me over there. He’s one of my best friends. That is something else I really like about that school too.”

Do you have any other camps scheduled going forward?

“Our dead period is over now so I have practices. I’m done with camps for this offseason.”

What has been your most memorable moment in high school football so far?

“To be honest probably winning the offensive line award at the B2G Elite. There were some of the top athletes in the country there. I performed the best I ever have. That is probably the best moment so far.”

What is your favorite part of playing football?

“Probably just the brotherhood, I have a love for the game, but it would probably be the brotherhood. I love the guys to death and I treat them like family. I have a real southern orientated family so there is always an extra plate at the table and an extra room if someone wants to stay over. I love the brotherhood. Of course I love the game. I love the physicality of it and I can take all my anger out. I just love the game.”

Kanan has a lot of blood, sweat, and tears left to leave on the high school playing fields before matriculating onto a college campus but that time will come. He already has the athleticism and frame, but also appears to have the drive to be a next level prospect coming out of the high school ranks. The kind of recruit teams wished they had signed on National Signing Day and the type of player that college staffers pat on each other’s backs for landing.

Another impressive attribute about Kanan is the type of young man he is today. Everything is yes sir no sir. He’s bright, thoughtful, and intelligent looking beyond himself or the next day but looks at others around him and to the future, and what a bright future that will be based on his current trajectory.

Photo credit: Kanan Ray; Kanan Ray (left) and Kylan “Meaty” Wilborn (Notre Dame HS) at UCLA

Photo credit: Kanan Ray; Kanan Ray and Sierra Canyon RB Bobby Cole at Arizona

Photo credit: Kanan Ray via Twitter; No. 54 Kanan Ray