Sevyn Banks 'definitely ready' to carry on Buckeyes cornerback tradition

Sevyn Banks could have left for the NFL after emerging as a reliable, lockdown option in the Ohio State secondary last season. But the defensive back opted to return. Now he is ready to carry on Ohio State’s streak of having every starting cornerback since 2013 drafted.

“I’m definitely ready,” Banks said Friday at Ohio State media availability. “I mean, that’s why you come to Ohio State. I sat behind Jeff [Okudah], Damon Arnette, all these guys. And now it’s my time. It’s going to be your time at some point, and now it’s mine.”

“Jeff and Damon, they’re two different types of corners, aggressive, the feet work, just having knowledge and anticipating things. I got that from both of them, for real.”

Draft stock of Sevyn Banks

Banks’ name has been littered across the too-early NFL mock drafts after April’s draft. With the talent Ohio State has produced in its secondary and the elite level Banks is expected to play at this fall, the early projections line up.

The folks in Las Vegas have even listed the senior as a favorite to garner first-overall pick honors in next year’s draft, the only Ohio State player listed. The cornerback has the 10th-best odds to be selected No. 1 overall, according to BetOnline.ag. Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler has the best odds at +225, and North Carolina quarterback is closely behind at +250.

Ohio State has not seen a player go first overall since Orlando Pace went to the St. Louis Rams in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Impact of 2021 season

The analysts think Banks is a first-round pick; Las Vegas thinks he could go as high as No. 1 overall. Ever since his special-teams touchdown against Michigan as a freshman, the expectation has been for him to be a star in the Ohio State secondary. And he flashed the potential late in the season in the College Football Playoff.

Banks sat out this spring with an undisclosed injury. But he returned for summer workouts, working with Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes to refine his skills. Earlier this month he landed on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back.

Sevyn Banks now controls where he will go in next year’s NFL Draft. If he follows in the footsteps of Damon Arnette and Jeff Okudah, he will be a first-round draft pick.