AUSTIN – Hero Kanu says there isn’t too much to his name. 

His older siblings are named David and Deborah, so when his parents were expecting their third child, Hero’s mom, Judith, began brainstorming boy names that also start with the letter D. She settled on Damon.

But Hero’s dad, Kingsley, wasn’t a fan. He thought it sounded too much like demon. 

“He slept on it for a night and Hero popped up in his head,” Hero says. “That became my name.” 

Hero always thought he could make a name for himself as a football player while growing up outside of Munich, Germany. He just thought it’d be a different kind of football. He’d argue the real football since he calls our version “American Football” with a wry smile while sitting in the University of Texas football facility. 

Hero grew up playing goalie and center back in a soccer-crazed world. That is until he outgrew the sport, literally, when he blossomed into a 6-foot-3, 240-pound teenager. That’s when a friend of his introduced him to Brandon Collier, a former defensive tackle at UMass who founded PPI Recruits to match European players with U.S. college football teams. 

Collier, who had moved to Germany, drove five hours to meet with Hero and his family. The two began training together when Hero was 15 years old. It didn’t take long for Collier to know he had found his next gem. 

“I knew the first time I worked him out that he was going to be special,” Collier said. “He could’ve been a professional soccer player if he didn’t grow so big. Hero’s an incredible athlete, especially for his size. That stood out right away.”

Collier doesn’t always send his prospects to American high schools, but Hero was a unique case. He always wanted to be an exchange student in America and the opportunity presented itself during COVID. Collier and Hero were training in any open space they could find outside to get around the German restrictions – parks full of goose poop, random stairs, different hills around town. 

But when it was clear that a full shutdown was imminent, Collier called his college roommate – Anthony Rouzier – who had just become the head coach at Santa Margarita Catholic in Southern California. 

He left Germany in October of 2020 on a 12-hour direct flight to Los Angeles. He was the only one on the plane. 

“It was a regular charter plane so there were box lunches and all that,” Hero remembers. “But it was just me so I ate like 10 of those lunch boxes on the flight. I just ate and slept for 12 hours.” 

California wasn’t holding a fall season in 2020 because of COVID, which was fine with Hero. It gave him time to acclimate to his new country, learn more of the English language, and figure out how to play football. He said it was a hidden blessing that he didn’t play in his first organized season of American football until the spring of 2021. 

By the fall season that same year, Hero was a four-star recruit with offers from the major college programs in the country. He credits his soccer background for his athleticism and coordination. He’s grown into a 6-foot-5, 309-pound defensive tackle with All-SEC hopes and NFL aspirations. But he can still juggle a soccer ball. 

“I will put my kids in soccer first. It’s the first sport I’ll put them in,” Hero said. “It lays a good foundation for footwork, conditioning, and body control. I’d recommend it to any parent out there.”

But while he was finding his footing as a football player, Hero admits that staying in touch with home was increasingly difficult. There is a nine-hour time difference between California and Germany. He’d lift at 6:30 in the morning and not get out of school until nearly 3 p.m., which was past his parents’ and siblings’ bedtime. By the time they were done with their day, Hero was sleeping in California. 

“It was hard, but I had a wonderful host family,” Hero said. “It was a rough time for a while.” 

He was also experiencing culture shock on the football field. In Germany, he had played soccer mostly for fun. His teams would practice twice a week and play a game on the weekend. Major prep football in California was more demanding. As was the weather. He left Germany when winter was approaching and snow was starting to fall. The field at Santa Margarita was 105 degrees during his first football workout. 

“I was thinking to myself, ‘this has to be a safety hazard,’” he said with a laugh. 

Hero chose Ohio State over Georgia and numerous other major offers out of high school. He redshirted as a freshman in 2022 and then played in 27 games over the next two seasons, including the 2024 national championship season when the Buckeyes knocked off Texas in the CFP semifinals. 

But Hero wanted more. He wanted a bigger role and that caused him to jump into the transfer portal after the season. His first experience with recruiting as a prep star allowed him to take his time. That wasn’t true as a transfer. He had a week to decide because Ohio State’s season went so long into January. 

Hero entered the portal on a Thursday and took the first of three visits that Sunday. He went to Texas on Sunday, Florida on Monday, and Georgia on Tuesday. During that visit to Georgia, Hero called Texas defensive tackles coach Kenny Baker to tell him he wanted to be a Longhorn. He was in a communications class on the Forty Acres the next day. 

“I signed all the forms to get admitted and went to class that same day,” Hero said. “I walked in as the new guy even though class started like two weeks before that. I was used to it. I did the same thing when I moved to California.” 

Hero immediately fell in love with Austin. Just like he instantly fell in love with college football. He says it reminds him of the soccer culture at home. Back in Germany, classes would stop and televisions would roll out to play World Cup matches. 

Every time he goes back home to Germany, he says all he and his friends do is watch soccer. He was there in 2024 during the European Championships when Germany hosted and the final was in Munich. But he couldn’t stay. Summer workouts were starting and Hero knew he couldn’t miss them. 

“I was so hot,” he said. “But work was calling.” 

Hero started 12 of the 13 games he played in at Texas in 2025. The only game he didn’t start was the season opener against Ohio State – his former team. He’ll get to rectify that in 2026 when he strolls out for the first series against the Buckeyes on Saturday. 

“It’s honestly mixed feelings,” Hero says about playing his former team. “I was excited to see my boys and old coaches because I didn’t leave with any bad blood or anything, but at the same time, you feel like you have something to prove.” 

Hero wanted a new challenge and found it in Austin. He’s not just a starter for the Horns; he’s one of the team’s biggest leaders. He’s reached the mountaintop of college football and walked into the locker room with a confidence he never had at Ohio State. 

Hero arrived in Columbus as a 17-year-old freshman who was less than two years removed from living in Germany. He arrived in Austin as a national champion. And that’s how he hopes to leave. 

But first, he gets another crack at his old team. 

“You can’t bring emotion to football, so we’re just focused on winning every game one by one,” he said. “You can’t look too far ahead or make too big of a deal over a specific game. But I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got friends on that team and we get another chance (to beat them).”