How Texas can utilize Kelvin Banks' athleticism to help the offense go in 2023
Texas really struck gold when Mario Cristobal decided to leave Oregon for the Miami job after the 2021 season. The Kelvin Banks recruitment, a miss for Texas over the summer, was suddenly reopened and the Longhorns seized on their second chance at the No. 22 ranked player in the country.
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Despite not being an early enrollee, Banks was able to make good use of his offseason as well as the new rules about coaching involvement in the summer and not only win a starting job but claim the left tackle position as only a true freshman.
Then he unleashed one of the more dominant seasons by a Texas offensive lineman in years and set up an interesting 2023 season for the Longhorn unit.
A freak athlete
There’s a very simple reason why Banks played immediately for Texas as a freshman, he’s a uniquely gifted athlete well beyond even most blue chip linemen prospects. No. 22 in the nation was decidedly too low, as it turns out.
While he was immediately very solid in pass protection, the freaky athleticism showed up very quickly in run blocking. One easy example is the occurrences when Texas ran varieties of “power” which would pull the backside tackle rather than the guard.
Banks moves very quickly and confidently partly because he’s fast but also partly because he has the quick feet and agility to hit targets on the move without having to slow down to take a more plodding track. He’s probably one of the best pullers in the country.
The very best instance of this came against Iowa State, when one of the Cyclone safeties was quick-triggering downhill against the run as they’re all well trained to do, but then saw Banks coming around the corner and got the heck out of the way.
Texas didn’t have just a ton of plays that pulled the tackle a year ago, but against these 3-down Flyover teams it was a more common check in their power schemes. They also had an outside sweep which would pull the tackle around a pin down block by the tight end.
He’s absolutely unbelievable for a big man at finding and connecting with smaller players in space as a blocker. Then when he makes contact, the fact he’s 300+ pounds becomes apparent once more as they are flattened.
These skills show up in normal running plays as well. His lateral quickness and explosiveness off the ball translate easily to executing combo blocks and climbing up to second level targets.
He must have a reputation around the Big 12 by now amongst all the defenders who can swap stories about working to find the ball in space and suddenly seeing the dreaded “78” in their faces before getting taken to the turf.
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Banks was pretty strong at the point of attack as well, he’ll be better still in 2023 after a full offseason with Kyle Flood learning how to position his feet and use his hands to win fights against other big men. In the meantime, his ability to take angles most 300 pounders couldn’t has been more than enough to make him wildly effective.
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Building around Banks in 2023
There are different tiers of top players: starters who can be counted on to do their job within a scheme, above average starters who put up numbers, players you build around, and finally players who create major matchup problems regardless of the opponent.
The last group are the true blue chippers, the guys you know a gameplan can count on every week that opponents will necessarily be spending their week stressing about. Banks is a true blue chipper.
Were I a Texas opponent in 2023, one of my aims would be to keep Banks at the first level. Let Texas’ guards or tight ends be the ones to try and climb up to my linebackers and defensive backs, I want Banks tied up with big men he can’t flatten. Beyond winning and losing, I have a moral obligation to the young men and their families who trusted me to position them to succeed and not be trampled.
But Texas has a potential answer for keeping Banks on the move which plays well with running more 11 personnel/spread sets next season, the GT counter play.
These Flyover teams are easy to create angles against to pull the backside tackle. Those defenses usually play their backside defensive end opposite the running back in a 4i-technique, which is an easier alignment for a guard or center to block back against.
GT counter uses the guard to kick out the defender on the edge while the tackle needs to come planning on lead blocking up to a linebacker but prepared to clean up whatever the picture looks like behind the guard. It’s the ultimate run play for utilizing an athletic tackle and will likely take greater prominence in the Texas playbook in 2023 as a result.
Texas needs Banks to grow in traditional O-line duties, grappling with Edges and big men in the trenches, but his ability to move around and blast people is truly unique. The more Texas can get him on the move in 2023 the more they can set the tone and establish themselves as the bullies of the league.
