September 15, 2025 • 3 mins
Will Matthews visits with Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Hero Kanu to discuss his journey from Germany to Austin. They discuss Hero's upbringing in Europe to playing high school football against current Texas teammates in California. Plus, how Hero ended up at Ohio State before transferring to Texas.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hero. What's so interesting outside of the game.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
You killed it this last game, really really bald on
the field. But you gotta tell me about your story
coming from Germany at sixteen by yourself, trying to make
your way.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah, like you already mentioned, I came to America, to California,
to be exact, at sixteen. I lived with a host family,
awesome family and superiors family. They're actually gonna come to
a couple of my games this year. But yeah, so
I lived with them during COVID, like really twenty twenty,
like peak COVID, and everything was like shut down, you know,
(00:37):
especially in Germany, and Germany was really bad about it.
So I was in America for nine months. I couldn't
see my family, like my you know, immediate family or
nothing like that. And they were by my side the
entire time through the whole process of playing the delayed
high school football season. So then my senior year really
having like a breakout, getting recruited on a national level.
(01:02):
So yeah, that's basically my favor You call them the
Fay family, but they're really like my family. So I
call them brothers to my host brother and obviously Mom
that are like still by the first name, but you
know they're basically my second parents.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Tell me about like playing in California and getting recruited nationally,
especially with your family being so far away in Germany.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. So I played at Santa Margarita Catholic High School,
which is in Orange County, California. Santamagarita's. It was awesome,
Like it's a Trinity League, So we play against big
time schools like modern day San John Bosco surveyed, like
for the people that don't know survied, Mason Graham went there,
team went there. The guy from Arizona that got drafted
to the Panthers. So a bunch of talent is really
(01:50):
like they're in Orange County that got to go against
which is ultimately the reason why I got recruited on
a national level at the end. Fun fact, Brandon Baker,
I play against him high school and that was like
the first time we met that we've been in contact
ever since. Really.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So you get created nationally and you get up to
Ohio State, you do your thing there. You guys play
Texas this last beginning of the year, and now you're
turning around and playing for Texas. Talk about that transition
from Ohio State to Texas and kind of what you
found here.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, obviously both programs are awesome. At the end, after
the national championship, I had to make the decision that
I want to transfer, and Texas was the school that
ultimately came down to. I love it here. I love
the coaches, I love the people, the people, the players,
and the city as a whole. It actually kind of
reminded me a little bit of Germany. Oh really, yeah,
(02:45):
maybe a little bit warmer.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I came here. I came in like January and February
and it was like eighty degrees already, and I'm like,
it's supposed to snow right now. Okay, I'm not used
to this, but it was. It has been awesome. I
can't lie like having to make I made that decision
and I'm completely happy about it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So tell us a little bit about, you know, how
it has felt playing in DKR.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
We're walking into the third game.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
At Darryl K. Memorial Stadium. How has it been taken in?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
All the fan and all the stuff here right now?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
So it's funny because we have like workouts and all
in DKR as well, but it was always empty. And
now walking into DKR and seeing like, what is it
one hundred thousand fans like loud, they're engaged. It was awesome,
Like the atmosphere is awesome. I can't wait for this
upcoming game to see the night game version of it,
because obviously we had had like a morning like morning
(03:40):
game eleven am, then we two thirty, and now we're
going to have like I think six thirty or seven,
so it's gonna be awesome. I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It, all right, y'all, y'all heard it from here Canoe,
Thank you hero.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I'm looking forward to watching the show out this week.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Appreciate it, yep,
Hero. What's so interesting outside of the game.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
You killed it this last game, really really bald on
the field. But you gotta tell me about your story
coming from Germany at sixteen by yourself, trying to make
your way.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah, like you already mentioned, I came to America, to California,
to be exact, at sixteen. I lived with a host family,
awesome family and superiors family. They're actually gonna come to
a couple of my games this year. But yeah, so
I lived with them during COVID, like really twenty twenty,
like peak COVID, and everything was like shut down, you know,
(00:37):
especially in Germany, and Germany was really bad about it.
So I was in America for nine months. I couldn't
see my family, like my you know, immediate family or
nothing like that. And they were by my side the
entire time through the whole process of playing the delayed
high school football season. So then my senior year really
having like a breakout, getting recruited on a national level.
(01:02):
So yeah, that's basically my favor You call them the
Fay family, but they're really like my family. So I
call them brothers to my host brother and obviously Mom
that are like still by the first name, but you
know they're basically my second parents.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Tell me about like playing in California and getting recruited nationally,
especially with your family being so far away in Germany.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. So I played at Santa Margarita Catholic High School,
which is in Orange County, California. Santamagarita's. It was awesome,
Like it's a Trinity League, So we play against big
time schools like modern day San John Bosco surveyed, like
for the people that don't know survied, Mason Graham went there,
team went there. The guy from Arizona that got drafted
to the Panthers. So a bunch of talent is really
(01:50):
like they're in Orange County that got to go against
which is ultimately the reason why I got recruited on
a national level at the end. Fun fact, Brandon Baker,
I play against him high school and that was like
the first time we met that we've been in contact
ever since. Really.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So you get created nationally and you get up to
Ohio State, you do your thing there. You guys play
Texas this last beginning of the year, and now you're
turning around and playing for Texas. Talk about that transition
from Ohio State to Texas and kind of what you
found here.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, obviously both programs are awesome. At the end, after
the national championship, I had to make the decision that
I want to transfer, and Texas was the school that
ultimately came down to. I love it here. I love
the coaches, I love the people, the people, the players,
and the city as a whole. It actually kind of
reminded me a little bit of Germany. Oh really, yeah,
(02:45):
maybe a little bit warmer.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I came here. I came in like January and February
and it was like eighty degrees already, and I'm like,
it's supposed to snow right now. Okay, I'm not used
to this, but it was. It has been awesome. I
can't lie like having to make I made that decision
and I'm completely happy about it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So tell us a little bit about, you know, how
it has felt playing in DKR.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
We're walking into the third game.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
At Darryl K. Memorial Stadium. How has it been taken in?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
All the fan and all the stuff here right now?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
So it's funny because we have like workouts and all
in DKR as well, but it was always empty. And
now walking into DKR and seeing like, what is it
one hundred thousand fans like loud, they're engaged. It was awesome,
Like the atmosphere is awesome. I can't wait for this
upcoming game to see the night game version of it,
because obviously we had had like a morning like morning
(03:40):
game eleven am, then we two thirty, and now we're
going to have like I think six thirty or seven,
so it's gonna be awesome. I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It, all right, y'all, y'all heard it from here Canoe,
Thank you hero.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I'm looking forward to watching the show out this week.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Appreciate it, yep,
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