Saints draft Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., Summer Creek alum, in first round at ninth overall

HOUSTON – The New Orleans Saints drafted University of Texas left offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the ninth overall pick of the first round.

The University of Texas All-American left tackle and the Lombardi award and Outland Trophy winner, a former Summer Creek star lineman, was expected to be selected within the top half of the first round. The Texans explored trade-up scenarios with Banks in mind, per league sources. It would likely have cost a lot of draft capital to move up from the 25th overall selection.

Banks visited the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and San Francisco 49ers and talked with Texans coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio at the Longhorns’ Pro Day in Austin.

A 42-game starter at Texas and a former freshman All-America who did a solid job blocking Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr. against Alabama, All-Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, Banks has the blocking skills, size at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds and proven film NFL teams covet. In high school, he was an All-American and all-state selection who anchored an offense that averaged 432.2 yards and 45.6 points per game.

Some NFL teams project Banks, who has 33 1/2 inch arms and 10 3/8 hands, as an offensive guard. Regardless of where he ultimately lines up, few dispute his overall quality as a player and major upside. At the NFL scouting combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.16 seconds with a 32-inch vertical leap and a 4.66 short shuttle and a 7.81 three-cone drill.

KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander was with Banks and his family in Houston as the pick unfolded:

KPRC 2 caught up with Banks for an exclusive interview days before the draft:

How are you feeling about your draft outlook?

Banks: “Yeah, I feel real good about everything. I felt like I’ve been taking advantage of my opportunities throughout this whole process. Like you said, just me trying to stay in shape, keep working to make sure when I go into whatever team I go to, whatever situation I’m ready to go.”

Whichever NFL team drafts you, what kind of player, what kind of person do they get with you?

Banks: “A guy who has high character, a guy who wants to come in and earn respect from his teammates and not just come in thinking I’m this hot, commodity guy. I understand I’ve got to restart. I’ve gotta go in with the mentality of work like I’ve always been having since I was a young kid. Other than that, just a player who loves football, loves to be around the game, and a guy that’s willing to learn.”

How was the visit process like leading up to the draft?

“I’ve been to the Panthers, the Cowboys, Raiders, Patriots, and then the Cardinals. So, all those visits were great. I got to talk some ball with the coaches and stuff like that. I feel like, once again, I got to maximize my opportunity at each visit and I feel great.”

How were your interactions with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, a former All-Pro linebacker.

Banks: “It’s always good to talk to the guys who’ve kind of been in your shoes experienced what the real game feels like. He’s a great guy to talk to about the game of football. He’s the real players’ coach. He understands his guys and he understand what it takes to get to that level.”

Does the mentality change when you’re on the field?

Banks: “Yeah, for sure. I kind of feel like you have to. I mean, you can always be a nice guy, a modern guy off the field, but when you get on the field you play between the rules, but you got to have a certain type of mindset to get on that field and play with other guys who’s looking at the same goal as you are. They’re trying to feed their family and you trying to do the same. So, you definitely got to have a different mindset stepping on that grass.”

When you think about the rookie year and every situation will be different, some places they’re going to say, hey, we want you to be our left tackle. Some might say, hey, we want to play guard and maybe we’re going to have you eventually be the left tackle, what’s the kind of thinking, your goals for your season, how do you approach it?

Banks: “Yeah, honestly, like I said, earn their respect first and then whatever spot they want to put me in. I just go in and play football. I don’t care if it’s center, I don’t care if its guard, tackle. If I’m part of the best five, then I’m going to play. I don’t know.

“I love football too much to kind of be worried about what positions a team is going to put you at. If they believe in me to go on the field and play, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”

How much did your background at Summer Creek benefit you at Texas and, even now, heading to the NFL?

Banks: “My whole experience is good for me, especially like in high school. Coaching was always tough on us, just how they were in college and I’m expecting the same thing in the NFL. So, I’ve always had that experience and mindset to go out and try to make sure I outwork my opponents, outstudy them and things like that. It started from the young age of my dad as well. So, it’s always been a good experience for me going from from my young self to who I am now.”

Do you have a big family?

Banks: Like medium. I got a brother and a sister. I’m the youngest, yes. My sister is the oldest. My brother is the middle child and I’m the youngest?

What did your dad being a long-haul truck driver do as far as the example he set for you in terms of work ethic leaving at dawn for work?

Banks: “When I was younger, he used to get up early like 4 a.m., probably didn’t get back to like 8, 9, 10 o’clock at night. Since he got a little older, he tried to tone it down a little bit So now he’s probably waking up at like probably like 5 a.m. It meant a lot to me, especially, I know it meant a lot for my other family members as well.

“Just seeing him go to work and not complain at all, not once, he’s always been that guy who made sure he put food on the table all the time, whether we had the most or we didn’t have the most. So, it does set a good example for me to show me how it is to provide for your family and how you have to go to work and approach every day.”

How emotional will it be for you and your family when your name is called?

Banks: “It’s definitely gonna be a moment where it hit me where it’s like, hey, this is all I’ve worked for and now I gotta keep going, but I’ll say 50-50, probably. I know my mom’s gonna cry hard, so, seeing her cry, I might shed me a little tear.”

The Texans are in the market for an offensive lineman. What has been your level of contact with them?

Banks: “After the combine, I met with them, I believe it was a Zoom I met with them. And then before pro day and then after pro day I met them as well. So I had a little bit of contact with them.”

Did you talk with DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio at the Pro Day?

Banks: ‘Yeah, they came up, they talked to almost every guy who was there. So, I guess that shows a lot of what type of players we have. DeMeco is that Swarm concept he likes to use. So, he definitely came in and kind of chopped it up a little bit, talked for a while, and it was a good experience."

What would it mean if the Texans drafted you?

Banks: “It’ll be amazing. I mean, even wherever I fall, it’ll be amazing to play for the Texans, whether if I’m getting picked or they trade up or whether if go to 25 in the draft. It will be really amazing just coming back to the city, being able to not move far from back where I was in Austin. So it’ll amazing just being able to play in my city once again.”

What has the advice been like from David Mulugheta, your agent who’s one of the top NFL agents in the business?

Banks: “Just stay focused. I mean, he understands the type of guy I am and type of player. He understands I’m confident in myself. He knows I’m gonna work hard. He knows I’m going to do all the right things. His thing is, just stay, stay, stay confident, stay patient. And when the time comes, it comes. So just make sure you keep working. That’s really his main focus for me.”

How do you eat healthy and stay in shape with all the visits, travel and food?

Banks: “Yeah, the dinners are fun. I mean it’s fun to talk to the coaches the food is great but like you said you definitely got to pay that price when you get done because it’s kind of like you’re used to working out hard, working out at a gym, working out with a trainer and stuff like that.

“But then when you go on the road, it’s kind of you and yourself working out. It’s like, you got to push yourself to maximum ability. You don’t have all the resources and tools you may have at a normal gym that you have in a hotel gym. So it’s definitely a grind. It’s something that you gotta kind of want to do yourself to kind of get some good work in.”

Being a part of the Longhorns legacy, playing for Steve Sarkisian, what does it mean to you now that you’re going to the NFL?

Banks: “With coach Sark and everything you guys have changed the program and this is gonna I think it’s gonna be on display a little bit. I know everybody’s gonna see. Yeah, we’ll have a lot of guys They have a great program, but there’s gonna a lot of Longhorns going to the NFL and making an impact in the NFL

“Yeah, it’s a lot of pride especially knowing how hard we work during the season to kind of get ourselves in this position, get our names called when the draft starts. So, it means a lot I know for me and I know sure those guys as well kind of understand what we did for our program and what we’re gonna do for NFL team programs to any NFL.”

What NFL linemen do you emulate?

Banks: “Yeah, I have a couple of guys I like to watch during the season. I watch Jake Matthews and Ra’Shawn Slater. I watch Laremy Tunsil a lot. I watch, and Tristan Wirfs. Those are four guys who I kind of try to watch, kind of pick different things from their game.”

How was this workout with Justin Allen?

Banks: “It was good, man. Justin, he really trains you how you’re gonna see things on the field, stuff that’s gonna help you on the field, He makes sure he gets the maximum efficiency out of your game and kind of try to correlate things from football to your training.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com