Texas OT Kelvin Banks named to On3's true freshman All-America team
Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks was named an On3 true freshman All-American on Tuesday. Banks started every game for the Longhorns at left tackle this year and lived up to his On3 Consensus five-star billing in every contest.
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Banks was also an On3 midseason true freshman All-American. On3’s Charles Power, who put the list of honorees together, had this to say about the Humble (Texas) Summer Creek product.
Kelvin Banks was the game one starter at left tackle for Texas and looked the part of the 2022 recruiting cycle’s No. 1 tackle for the entirety of the season. The 6-foot-4, 320-pounder got off to a fast start with a strong showing against Alabama’s vaunted pass rushers and continued his strong play throughout the fall. Banks surrendered just two sacks and 12 pressures on 405 pass plays according to Pro Football Focus. He gave up zero pressures over the final month of the season. He was joined by fellow true freshman Cole Hutson as a starter on the Longhorn offensive line.
The Humble (Texas) Summer Creek product is an advanced mover with length and play strength. Banks, who ranked as the No. 6 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2022 On300, looks like one of the top young talents along the line of scrimmage in college football.
-Charles Power
Banks was the only Big 12 player to earn the distinction. He proved himself to be more than capable from the beginning of the season when he posted a strong performance versus the aforementioned Alabama EDGE duo of Will Anderson and Dallas Turner.
Even against Big 12 defensive linemen like Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, Kansas’ Lonnie Phelps, Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver, and Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson, Banks consistently held his own. According to PFF, he was charged only two penalties all year.
The Longhorns have put several offensive linemen into the NFL in recent years, but no one has performed at the level Banks did as a true freshman since Connor Williams started 12 games at left tackle during his freshman All-America season in 2015.
Banks was ranked as the No. 22 overall prospect, the No. 2 offensive tackle, and the No. 5 prospect in Texas according to the 2022 On3 Consensus. He was one of the headliners of Texas’ seven-man offensive line class along with Arlington (Texas) Bowie IOL DJ Campbell.
