Texas OT Kelvin Banks is ready to shine in his first year in SEC, months away from 2025 NFL Draft

Kelvin Banks has been working toward this moment for almost his entire life. The junior offensive tackle has the NFL waiting for his services as he and the Longhorns embark on their first season in the SEC.

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Banks’ journey to Austin took an interesting route. He grew up with burnt orange in his bedroom, but committed to Oklahoma State in his sophomore year at Humble (Texas) Summer Creek. After de-committing from Mike Gundy, he gave a verbal pledge to Oregon in the summer of 2021. But as his senior season played on, he began getting closer to Texas and cozied up to the idea of playing closer to home. He committed to Texas that winter and never looked back.

Now he’s a returning two-year starter and is looking to make his mark in what could be his final season in Austin. Where is he looking for improvement?

“From freshman to sophomore year, I felt like the consistency of me being more in tune with the game,” said Banks. “I felt like my teammate, Jake Majors, came back from an O-line retreat and he talked about do you like football, do you love football or do you live football? And I’m like, I live for football and this is what I want to do. So just me being more in tune with film and more in tune with my technique, different things like that and going into the off-season being consistent and making sure I stay dominant.”

He even gave a self scouting report.

“On myself, I would say good feet, good hands, willingness to learn the game and consistency in his technique, no matter when he’s tired or when he’s fresh,” Banks said.

He’s also a popular player in the college football world. He’s listed as a top 10 pick in almost every 2025 NFL Mock Draft. But he’s not letting that distract him from the task at hand.

“You said it perfectly, be where your feet are,” Banks said. “Don’t try to look too far ahead because once you do that, things will go downhill for you, because then you’re focusing on more than what you need to at the moment.”

With a loaded roster of talent and a returning starting quarterback, Banks believes the Horns are ready for the Southeastern Conference.

“Just us trying to come in and gain respect from our opponents,” said Banks. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing for us, coming into a new conference, gaining respect and understanding that we respect them but we want them to respect us as well. (With Ewers) it gives you confidence because the more you can spend time with a guy and play with him the more you can gel with him. And even then we have guys behind Quinn and other back-ups as well who would gel into our playbook and scheme as well. So it’s very exciting.”

Banks, when talking about his O-line and who helped him in Austin, mentioned Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Christian Jones.

“I would say the biggest thing Christian Jones taught me to stay consistent and not dwell on the moments that aren’t going good, because you’re not going to be perfect,” Banks said. “Not everything is going to go how you want it to go and being able to focus and put that play or whatever is happening behind you and just focus on where you are now and what you’re doing. With Cam Williams, he’s been a guy who has sat behind Christian for those two years, and being able to learn and learn from Christian’s experiences like I did as well. So just — I feel Cam is going to be ready, and he’s just soaking it all in right now.”

How ready are the Longhorns for their first season in the premier conference in America?

“We lost some key guys on our team to the NFL,” Banks explained. “Congratulations to them. But like you said, I feel like our talent is good, because when you look at the playing field when we are practicing or stuff, there is no drop-off. Everybody is communicating and gelling well together, so I feel like we have a lot of depth on our team and we’re doing pretty good.”

Banks has his eyes on a big prize, playing on Sundays. But he still has work left in Austin, and now on the SEC stage, he can’t wait to begin. He’s been waiting for this moment all his life.