Texas defensive lineman Hero Kanu has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, the SCORE Foundation announced Wednesday.
It is the third straight season Texas has had a player reach the semifinalist stage. Former UT center Jake Majors was a semifinalist in 2024, former UT DB Michael Taaffe was selected last season, and former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger won the award in 2021.
Kanu’s case goes well beyond what he has done on the field. Over the past two years, he has hosted eight free football camps in Germany and France for young people ranging from six-year-olds to young adults, with the goal of teaching them American football along with the discipline, dedication and work ethic that come with being a student-athlete. He also donated more than 100 pairs of shoes to local children in need after being inspired by the Kicks for Kids program, and he took part in promotional work to help spread awareness of the charitable initiative.
His community work has stretched across Austin, too. Kanu has volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club of Austin through Longhorn great and board member Jamaal Charles, and he served as a celebrity waiter at an event backing College Football Hall of Famer Derrick Johnson’s Defend the Dream Foundation, which supports low-income and inner-city youth.
He has also sponsored two aspiring student-athletes, one from Germany and one from Nigeria, on trips to America so they could attend college camps and pursue their athletic and educational dreams. In another effort to grow the game, Kanu helps support club teams in Germany by providing access to minivans for travel to 9U and 11U flag football games.
He also gave free ice cream to students on campus for two hours to help raise awareness for a UT student organization and its community work.
Growing up in Geltendorf, Germany, Kanu was a soccer player first. The small town is just over 1,000 residents and sits less than an hour west of Munich.
He played goalkeeper and center back at a high level from age six to 16 before his size pushed him toward football. He was first introduced to American football in 2019 at age 15 by Brandon Collier, the former college player who founded Premier Prospects International, an international scouting and training organization.
After training with Collier and PPI, Kanu made the leap to the United States in October 2020 as a high school junior, speaking broken English and having never played organized football. He left his family and friends behind to chase the chance to play college football in America, then played organized football for the first time in spring 2021.
His parents and siblings supported the move, and when he first arrived in the U.S. he lived with Seana and Michael Pierce and their son, Evan, in Ladera Ranch, Calif. He remains close with them.
On the field, Kanu is a second-year player who has appeared in 18 games with 17 starts across two seasons at Texas after transferring from Ohio State in spring 2025. In six starts this season, he has 16 tackles, including seven solo stops, along with 3.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, one pass breakup and four quarterback hurries. Those four hurries are tied for the team lead, and his 3.5 tackles for loss rank third on the roster.
Before the 2026 season, Phil Steele placed Kanu on his preseason Fourth-Team All-America and Second-Team All-SEC lists. He was also named a finalist for the 2026 William V.
Campbell Trophy on Sept. 23.
Kanu is set to graduate in December 2026 with a Communication & Leadership degree and carries a 3.42 cumulative GPA. He was on the 2025-26 SEC Academic Honor Roll and was a 2025 member of the Texas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Three finalists will be announced Tuesday, Dec. 15. The winner will be revealed at the award ceremony at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 11, 2027.
In Other News...
Arch Manning Is Showing Texas Something Different At A Crucial Time
Arch Manning has been drawing a different kind of attention around Texas this week, and Steve Sarkisian noticed it during practice. After a rough stretch and a two-game losing streak, the Longhorns are looking for a spark from their quarterback, and Sarkisian said Manning has looked edgy in practice as the team tries to steady itself before Ole Miss.
Sarkisian sounded optimistic that Manning can turn that edge into production when it matters most. He also pointed to backup KJ Lacey as a steady presence behind the scenes, praising the freshman's solid play and coachability this season, a small but meaningful reminder that Texas is still trying to sort out its quarterback room while the pressure keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Legend Sparks SEC QB Debate With Arch Manning Shot
David Pollacks latest SEC quarterback rundown landed with some weight, especially in Texas circles, because it came with a clear endorsement of Georgias Gunner Stockton and a sharp critique of Arch Manning. Pollack, who has long had a strong feel for the leagues biggest quarterbacks, stuck with Stockton even after a rough outing, framing the Georgia signal-caller as someone he still trusts as the games get bigger and the pressure rises.
For Texas, the more pointed part of the discussion was the Manning evaluation. Pollack pointed to an underwhelming performance and issues in key games during Mannings second full season as a starter, a reminder that the scrutiny around the Longhorns quarterback is only growing. With Texas always measured against the SECs best, comments like that add another layer to the conversation about how Manning stacks up when the spotlight is brightest. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Must Face A Recruiting Miss At The Worst Time
Kewan Lacys path to this point carries a little extra sting for Texas. The Dallas native and Ole Miss running back was a three-star prospect who had long wanted to play for the Longhorns, but Steve Sarkisian and his staff never extended a scholarship offer. Now Lacy has turned into a productive piece for the Rebels, and Texas is set to see him up close in a matchup that arrives with plenty on the line for both sides.
The Longhorns meet Ole Miss on Oct. 24 in a game scheduled for ABC, and the timing could hardly be worse for Texas. Its defense is already dealing with injuries to key players, which puts even more pressure on a unit trying to hold up against an offense featuring a runner it once passed on. For Texas, it is the kind of recruiting miss that can feel much bigger when the calendar finally circles back. [Read more 🡒]