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Kelvin Banks Appreciation Thread

Beau Vine

By Beau Vine
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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54001

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Not going to say that this play was when I knew we were going to win, but it showed that it wasn't going to be the same old Texas-OU.  Showed that our big guys were ready to fight.  
 

 

I was reading a book about the 1991 UDub football team earlier this summer and this little passage about the Cal game stood out to me:

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This is a big part of why the Huskies were so good that year and this reminded me of Kelvin Banks.

Lincoln Kennedy got most of the attention on that team, but Malamala was the dude on the O-line who didn't take shit from anyone and set the attitude.  And he went on to play 10 years in the NFL.

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Elmer_Fudd

Elmer_Fudd 22109

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1 minute ago, The Ace of Aces said:

We haven’t had a talented, angry, strong O-lineman in forfuckingever - untiL mow. 
 

Remember the line seemed to always look the other way when Ehlinger was hit late? Fuck that noise. Wish we could clone Mr. Banks.  

On the missed FG near the end Cam Williams was in somebody's face for OU.

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troph

troph 24562

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1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

Cross-posting...

Kelvin Banks:  What he loves to do off the field

I'd go fishing for reds with that guy, but I'd probably check the weight limits on the skiff before we left the dock.

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Zeus

Zeus 5950

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39 minutes ago, markstanco said:

At the end of that video... mobilhoma fan in the stands "throw the flag for blocking him over 10 yards!"

Yeah they were trying to do cheap shit like hold and drag backwards to draw a foul for blocking after the play. 

Didn't work because the rig12 refs only fuck Texas over against every other opponent not chokelahoma

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ousux

ousux 5587

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I'd go fishing for reds with that guy, but I'd probably check the weight limits on the skiff before we left the dock.
Fuck it, you'll have a "first rounder sunk my boat" story for the rest of your life. I'm sure your aggy insurance salesman will go to bat for you.
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1 hour ago, Dennis Taylor said:

They will be saying "Kelvin Banks" in place of "Chuck Norris" in all those jokes in the near future. 

I'll start- The Outland Trophy just made Kelvin Banks' list

Kelvin Bank's the front runner to win the Kelvin Banks Trophy for best interior lineman.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48972

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KelvinBanksJrTTU_hWZLW.png&height=460&wi

Screenshot_20230902-084708_kindlephoto-3075922.png.9cbab23fe1dff887acd408b28a57cefa.png

By Will Dehmel

Like a gladiator in a Colosseum twice as large, Kelvin Banks Jr. trots out to the roar of 100,000 fans. Each onlooker is decked out in burnt orange, their pinkies and index fingers extended with passion and pride — many have been Longhorn fans since birth.

It's a spectacle and position few will have the fortune of experiencing. It's fabled. generational. A time-honored and storied tradition. The subject of books and movies and song … it's Texas football, after all.

But behind the mask of the 6-4, 324 pound gladiator, Banks is just a teenager.

"It really didn't hit me probably until I was running out of the tunnel for the first game," Banks said now, a year removed. "If you're not nervous, I feel like you're not doing it right. So running out the tunnel, I felt very nervous and jittery, and I remember Coach Flood coming up to me and telling me, 'It's just football — be yourself and play your game.'"

It's a message Banks, now a true sophomore, had to learn quickly. Wearing the Texas name across your jersey is a dream to many, and prestigious position that's envied by thousands. But that privilege is one that carries weight and expectations.

"Growing up, I was always a Longhorn fan," Banks, a native of Humble, Texas, said. "So that kind of planned out where I wanted to play as a kid. Being from Texas is a very important part of why I came here, because I'm repping my state and doing it while I'm close to home."

He's just 19. His oldest teammates are several years his senior and the veteran teammates are a valuable resource as he develops on and off the field. His family, of course, at home matters greatly, and helps keep him grounded.

"Going fishing with my grandad, my dad, and my brother, those things are invaluable moments in my life," Banks added. "Especially being a college athlete, you don't get much time off to spend with your family. So I try to make those moments as much as I can and just have a good time, whether we are catching fish out there or not."

If fans forget how young Banks is — or any of his teammates — it's because he certainly doesn't play like it. In 2022, Banks started all 13 games and was a second-team All-Big 12 selection and a Freshman All-American.

While many predicted success for the five-star recruit, high school rankings mean little when you arrive on a Big 12 campus. It's one thing to be the best guy in high school; it's another to play four 2023 NFL first-round edge defenders as a true freshman.

Choosing not to enroll early, Banks arrived on campus last summer with only a few months to adjust and learn the offense. Just weeks later, in game two, he faced the nation's top defensive player, Alabama's Will Anderson Jr., who was taken third overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Banks was clearly a quick study and adjusted to his position at a fast past for a rookie, not allowing Anderson a single sack or QB hit in that game.

"I was telling myself, 'You can do this, you can play with the best of the best,'" Banks said. "I came in not looking for a handout. Yes, you definitely want to play as a freshman, but my mindset was to come in and work as hard as I can, and if the opportunity comes when a coach trusts me and wants to play me, then that time comes. But until then, I'm gonna keep working my butt off."

With his first full season of success under his belt, Banks now has a responsibility to step up as a leader — all despite entering only his second year with the program.

"As a freshman, I was looking up to other guys," Banks said. "I was trying to be that leader because of the success I was having on the field, but it was hard for me since I wasn't a very vocal person. Coming in this year, having guys coming in, I feel like I'm doing a better job of making sure I'm communicating with them. I'm trying to lead this team and make sure everything goes as planned."

What's planned is competing for a Big 12 Championship and being in position for a bid to the College Football Playoff National Championship. But Banks follows the lead of his coaches, is laser-focused on the day and not looking ahead.

"Our mentality is day by day, game by game," Banks added. "As Coach Sark says, be where your feet are. We never want to look ahead, because as soon as you look ahead, that's when you lose focus and stuff goes downhill."

Still, Banks and the rest of the team have good reason to believe those unuttered goals are within reason.

Much of that is because of Banks and the offensive line. Head coach Steve Sarkisian has emphasized the front in recruiting in recent years, and Banks' class was a particularly good one to build around.

"Once we started rolling in recruitment, and I got here with other guys like Cole [Huston] and Cam [Williams] and DJ [Campbell], it definitely put a thought in my head like, 'Hey, we can actually become something that we were all wishing to be when we were kids,'" Banks said.

En route to fulfilling that mission, Banks and the other young linemen realize they still have much to learn. For guidance, they look to guys with more experience in the program.

Recalling the few mistakes he made last season, Banks says sixth-year tackle Christian Jones, in particular, was instrumental.

"A guy like Christian Jones would come to me and be like, 'Hey bro, it happens. You just got here. You're a freshman. All you gotta do is keep developing yourself and learning,'" Banks said.

Banks has learned plenty from offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Kyle Flood, as well.

"Ever since I got here, I've learned so much about the technicality of the game," Banks explained. "You're not just going out there and playing football like you did in high school. There's more to the game than just going out there and hitting somebody. It's footwork, your head placement, where you need to put your hands, how you should go about the play, pre-snap reads."

There is still much growth to be had, of course, but the offensive line looks promising as it returns all five of its starters this season. Banks says he can't overstate the importance of the group's continuity heading into week one..

"It's really great," Banks said. "Coming back with the whole group is awesome because you know what the person next to you is gonna do, you know how they communicate, how they run their certain plays. We all know what we need to do and what we need to get done."

But as Banks continues to take things day by day, rep by rep — and, back at home, cast by cast — he doesn't forget that kids from all over Texas and the country look up to him.

For those youngsters, his advice is twofold.

"First of all, make sure you stay in your books, because without class and school you wouldn't be able to have football," Banks, who spends a great deal of his free time working in the community, said. "Make sure you always continue to chase your dreams, and make sure you always find your why. Once you find the reason you're doing something, just keep sticking with it every time you feel like you can't go anymore."

Conversations with Banks will quickly make you forget how young he is. His voice is mature, his words thoughtful, informative and much-like a student-athlete far beyond his just over a year on a college campus. Media that talks to him, often have to remind themselves that he is so young in his career and just starting his sophomore year.

The thing that makes that so challenging is he certainly doesn't play like one.

 

https://texassports.com/news/2023/9/1/football-youth-not-a-hindrance-to-kelvin-banks-jrs-success-as-a-longhorn.aspx

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Longhornlove

Longhornlove 4779

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22 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Let's see more of this against bama  🤘

 

He certainly needs to play better than he did agains Rice and that goes for the entire line. IMHO, it might have been his worst game as a horn yet it probably wasn't terrible. Jones was the best Tackle on the field according to PFF.

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