California: Interview with Sierra Canyon OL/DL Kanan Ray

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Seems that every high school in America has a Kanan Ray type on the roster. Maybe not filling in at 6’4”, 260 pounds, but a guy that can lineup seemingly anywhere on the field and be a difference maker for his team. That is exactly what Ray does for Sierra Canyon High School as an offensive tackle and defensive end.

Ray has helped anchor the Trailblazers offensive and defensive line over the past two seasons with the team posting a 15-2 mark over the duration. In four games this season, Sierra Canyon has already rushed for 1,018, with junior Bobby Cole picking up 663 of those yards, and Niko Harris has passed for 917 yards. Helping blow open holes and keep Harris’ jersey clean the whole time has been Ray.

With Ray’s help in 2014 the Trailblazers racked up over 3,300 yards on the ground and another 2,597 in the air.

Over the first four games of the season on defense, Ray has 13 tackles, a quarterback hurry, and a fumble recovery with a lot of plays going the other way. Last season Ray had 8.5 sacks suffering through a similar frustration.

College coaches have noticed Ray’s abilities with teams like Arizona, Washington State, Oregon State, and Arizona State showing heavy interest along with Washington, San Diego State, Northern Arizona, and Cal all showing varying levels of interest wanting to see how his junior season plays out.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I caught up with Ray before a Sierra Canyon practice and before a big showdown against Mission Prep getting updates on the season to date and some recruiting news.

Photo credit: recruitingnewsguru.com; Kanan Ray