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What is Kelvin Banks' place in school history? (plus five other thoughts)

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•12/13/24•

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Kelvin Banks
Kelvin Banks (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Kelvin Banks has been named an All-American of some sort in all three of his seasons with Texas. He was a freshman All-American in 2022, a second-team All American in 2023, and is on his way to unanimous All-American status after the Walter Camp Football Foundation named him to its first team. Oh yeah, he picked up the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award along the way.

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Banks will likely leave Texas after this season as one of the most decorated offensive linemen in school history, and the chance to play for a national championship remains ahead of him as well. He’s a certainty to be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft barring the type of pre-draft event no one in Austin, Humble, or a NFL front office expects to see.

The accolades Banks has received follow as a result of standout play on the football field. That play on the field for Texas teams that are contending to be at the top of the sport has placed him in the company of the best offensive linemen to ever play in burnt orange.

The list of names considered to be the best O-linemen in Texas football history include Tommy Nobis, Bob McKay, Jerry Sisemore, Blake Brockermeyer, Dan Neil, Leonard Davis, Mike Williams, Jonathon Scott, and Justin Blalock.

There should be no argument against placing Banks within that company, and a compelling one exists that he might be at the forefront of that group.

The obvious argument against Banks being the best ever is the lack of a national championship level team success. Many of the players on that list, including Nobis, McKay, Sisemore, Scott, and Blalock, won national championship rings. Banks hasn’t quite achieved that yet, but the opportunity remains for him to do so.

But hey, 2-1 against Oklahoma and 1-0 against Texas A&M should count for something.

Banks’ case is strengthened when looking at individual achievements. The recent SEC Championship game was the first contest he missed in his career. His personal accomplishments include All-America, all-conference, and even national award honors. He’s playing against pass-rushers and defensive ends that not only didn’t exist in the 1960s and 1970s, but even into the 1990s and 2000s. As a freshman, he more than held his own against four first-round picks. That’s while operating in an offense that asks left tackles to be impact players in both the run game and in the pass game.

There’s no doubt Banks has elevated himself at least into the conversation, something the Outland and the Lombardi helped to confirm in recent days.

Line development: Texas football produced back-to-back winners of the Outland Trophy with Banks’ honor, as Banks followed T’Vondre Sweat‘s standout 2023 season with his own in 204. While two have different development stories considering Sweat was a Tom Herman holdover that Texas maximized and Banks was a Steve Sarkisian recruit through and through, both are still development stories and the likes of which Texas failed to produce for years and years. No longer can opponents point to Texas as a place where trench players go to wither while watching their peers in other colors succeed.

Barron does it: Jahdae Barron‘s fifth season proved that Texas is one of the places in college football that can make dreams come true. Switching to No. 7, a number at Texas synonymous with fantastic All-American level defensive back play from Michael Huff, Barron entered the season with hardware in mind knowing that if he played at a Thorpe Award level his team would be the beneficiary. He accomplished every goal he laid out for himself in January… well almost every goal. The playoff still remains.

Walter Camp All-Americans: Anthony Hill earned deserved recognition as a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation on Thursday night. But Barron’s inclusion as only a second-teamer, especially on the heels of winning the Thorpe, is a curious look for the WCFF. Sure, the WCFF and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame are different entities, possibly with different motivations for selecting their honorees. But for Barron not to earn a place on the first-team, that’ll be a decision that draws ire not just from Longhorn fans but from around the nation, especially now that it means the Thorpe Award winner won’t be the next unanimous All-American on the 40 Acres.

Unanimous All-Americans: Speaking of, Banks is on his way to that status. Here’s who he’ll join: Scott Appleton, Justin Blalock, Earl Campbell, Michael Dickson, DeShon Elliott, Jerry Gray, Michael Huff, Quentin Jammer, Derrick Johnson, Johnnie Johnson, Colt McCoy, Bud McFadin, Steve McMichael, Brian Orakpo, Bijan Robinson, James Saxton, Jonathan Scott, Brad Shearer, Kenneth Sims, Jerry Sisemore, T’Vondre Sweat, Johnny Treadwell, Ricky Williams, Bill Wyman.

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Awards miscellany: Ashton Jeanty was the deserving winner of the Doak Walker. The Travis Hunter dialogue, one where he’ll likely walk away with the Heisman, is bleeding over into the Biletnikoff’s decision to honor Hunter as the best wide receiver in the country. Florida State’s kicker and punter being up for national honors has a joke or rib in there somewhere. Kudos were earned by Jalen Milroe for winning the Campbell Trophy, aka the Academic Heisman.

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