4-star CB Ben Hanks Jr. signs with Florida
On Wednesday, 4-star corrnerback Ben Hanks Jr. of Miami Booker T. Washington signed with the Florida Gators during the first day of the Early Signing Period. Here is everything you need to know about the legacy addition.
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Position: Cornerback
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1/170 pounds
On3 Industry Rankings: No. 69 prospect | No. 11 cornerback | No. 11 prospect in Florida
Commitment Date: 8/16/24
Chose Florida over: Miami and Louisville
Time of enrollment: January
2024 Stats: Hanks has recorded over a dozen interceptions and recently broke the Miami-Dade County record for most interceptions in a single season.
Hanks says: “I just trust the process. I feel like coach Billy Napier is doing a good thing with the kids. It’s me trusting the process here and me coming here, talking to every coach here, buying in with some of the players, talking to the coaching staff, administrative staff…it’s a great place to stay at.”
Notable: Hanks is the son of former Florida standout and All-SEC linebacker, Ben Hanks, who played for Steve Spurrier.
Social Media: X (benhanks_); Instagram (benhanksjr)
What the Gators are getting in Ben Hanks Jr.
The first thing about Hanks’ game that grasps my attention is his anticipation. He does a good job of mirroring his opponent downfield and then breaking on the ball. That allows him to turn into an offensive player once the ball comes his way. Once dissecting the play, Hanks does a nice job of pushing off his back foot to come downhill. More often that not, he doesn’t fall for double moves either. He makes receivers work for four quarters.
With Hanks, this is a prospect who always has his head on a swivel. He is locked in at cornerback and does a nice job of being in position to pounce. He follows the quarterback’s eyes very well. Hanks is well aware of his surroundings in the secondary and it paid off with multiple interceptions during the 2023 season. He is always on his toes ready to make a play.
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Hanks is a cornerback you can isolate in one-on-one coverage and feel good about doing so. He has no problem taking on the opponent’s best wide receiver and is comfortable being thrown out on an island. I also like his physicality in press. He does a nice job of stunning the receiver at the line, often knocking them off path. Hanks possesses the swag defensive coordinators look for at cornerback.
I would like to see Hanks sink his hips more while in his backpedal. There are times where he plays too high, affecting his speed and fluidity when backpedalling. Being more consistent in that department will allow to make even more plays on the ball. Improving straight-line speed is something Hanks can improve too. We are not saying he is slow by any means, but he can become more explosive and work on his acceleration once getting in the open field. — GO’s Corey Bender
