Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State is only 69 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
With 69 days left until kickoff, we look back at the career of All-American guard Aaron Banks, who wore No. 69 for Notre Dame from 2017-20.
PROMOTION: Sign up for just $1 for your first year at Blue & Gold
Maybe it was the curly hair and the beard. Maybe it was the sheer size – 6-6, 319 pounds. Maybe it was the impressive blend of agility, athleticism and power for a man of that build.
Or, perhaps more likely, a mix of all three led Chip Long in 2018 to bestow an endearing moniker on Banks, then the backup right tackle who kept catching his eye early in the season.
“That was kind of when I was starting to figure it out and play better,” Banks said in 2020. “[He] started calling me the dancing bear.
“He called me that the whole season. It just kind of stuck.”
Heading into that year, Notre Dame saw Banks – a former top-150 recruit out of El Cerrito (Calif.) High – as an important future piece. The Irish staff soon realized, though, it couldn’t bear to keep Banks with the second-team offense any longer.
Left guard Alex Bars, the Irish’s most experienced offensive lineman that season, suffered a season-ending knee injury in late September. A 38-carry, 80-yard rushing performance Oct. 13 against Pitt was more fuel for a shakeup, especially with an open week following it.
The Irish called Banks’ number and moved him to Bars’ spot, giving him his first career start in an Oct. 27 game vs. Navy. With Banks’ help, they averaged 5.9 yards per carry and allowed no sacks in a 44-22 win.
That day, the player seen as a future building block became part of the present. He started the final six games of 2018, helping Notre Dame reach the College Football Playoff.
Banks manned left guard for all 25 games from 2019-20. In 2019, he allowed just two sacks in 13 starts on a Notre Dame offense line that finished 16th in sack rate (3.6 percent). The following season, he surrendered zero sacks and just 10 quarterback pressures in 12 starts, per Pro Football Focus. The Irish’s offensive line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award that year.
Banks was a consensus All-American in 2020, earning first-team recognition from the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association. Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation named him a second-teamer. He was also a first-team All-ACC selection.
The 49ers took Banks in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, at 48th overall. He played in nine games as a rookie, with zero starts.
