Christy Nkanu (born October 23, 1998) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Southern Utah Dixie is a nickname for the populated, lower-elevation area of south-central Washington County, the southwest corner of the State of Utah, bordering nearby Arizona to the south, and Nevada to the west. The area lies in the northeastern Mojave ...

and

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Early life

Nkanu was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He attended Dalbé-Viau High School in

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was founded as a trading post in 1669. Developing into a parish and then an autonomous city, it was Montreal m ...

and St. Paul High School in

Santa Fe Springs, California Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 19,219 at the 2020 census, up from 16,22 ...

College career

Nkanu first played

for the

Southern Utah Thunderbirds The Southern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including five men's sports: basketball, cross country, f ...

from 2019 to 2022. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2018. He played in two games in 2019. The 2020 season was moved to spring 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and Nkanu appeared in two games. He played in nine games for the Thunderbirds during the fall 2021 season. He played in 12 games, starting eight, during his final season at Souhthern Utah in 2022, earning first team All-

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

honors. Nkanu transferred to play for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

in 2023, and appeared in four games that year.

Professional career

Nkanu was selected by the

of the

(CFL) in the first round, with the eighth overall pick, of the

2024 CFL draft The 2024 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on April 30, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET. 74 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the c ...

. He officially signed with the team on May 3, 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nkanu, Christy Living people 1998 births American football offensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Southern Utah Thunderbirds football players Washington State Cougars football players Calgary Stampeders players Players of American football from Quebec Players of Canadian football from Quebec Canadian football people from Montreal