Why OT Kelvin Banks Might End Longhorns OL Struggles

Kelvin Banks could be the top offensive tackle in the country with improvements in Year 2.

Can anyone remember the last time Texas featured an offensive lineman drafted in the first round? Without firing up the search engine, does anyone remember his name? 

Who knows what team selected him? 

What number was he in the draft order? 

Save your typing and phone battery; Mike Williams only had to wait for four picks before the Buffalo Bills made him the second Longhorn selected top-five of the 2000s in 2002. And since he departed Austin, offensive line development has been a crutch for offensive stabilization.  

Kelvin Banks still has a few more years left on campus before he has to start worrying about pass rushers like Nick Bosa and Myles Garrett. Even then, there's room for improvements in the little details like hand placement, an anchoring first step and the ability to win against a second stunt move. 

Built like a bowling ball but with the feet of a ballerina, Banks has everything scouts covet in first-round talent at tackle. The 6-4, 315-pound Humble exudes confidence on the blindside and should garner more national recognition for his ability to dismantle defensive ends and blitzing linebackers. 

Draft season for Banks is at least two years away. The season starts in exactly two weeks. And for Texas to truly claim its status as "being back," the most essential asset to its success might reside in the trenches rather than the backfield. 

“He’s a very physically talented player,” Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said of Banks earlier this month. “He’s got size. He’s got speed. He’s got the change-of-direction (ability).

"He’s got all the tangible things that you kind of check the list off when you’re looking for a player whether you’re recruiting or whether you’re drafting. He’s got all those." 

Banks, who started all 12 games last season as a true freshman, might already be the Longhorns' best offensive lineman. Keep in mind all five starters are slated to return, not to mention Flood has praised the depth of second-team standouts like D.J. Campbell and Neto Umeozulu. 

Last season, the Summer Creek product allowed just two sacks in over 850 snaps at left tackle. Banks only allowed nine pressures in 456 pass-blocking snaps and efficiently opened running lanes for Doak Walker Award winner Bijan Robinson and No. 2 tailback Roschon Johnson. 

The offensive metrics were exaggerated, mainly due to the ankle-breaking techniques from Robinson, who totaled over 1,500 rushing yards and 20 TDs in his final year on campus. The two rushers also finished with 1,473 yards after contact, good enough for a top-15 national ranking. 

Robinson is now running down in Atlanta, while Johnson is looking to carve out a role with Chicago. Quinn Ewers and the passing game likely take an advanced step forward, but that only happens with protection upfront. 

Flood's noticed players listening to the 19-year-old as if he was a fifth-year senior. 

“What makes him special is his mindset,” Flood said. “As much success as he has had this early in his career, he works as hard as any player on our team every day to perfect his craft. That’s ultimately what creates the best players, the guys who ultimately get to play on Sundays.”

Banks and Ewers could tussle back and forth in being Texas' most important offensive player. Both enter the season as preseason Big 12 first-team members, with Ewers also being the favorite to take home the conference's Offensive Player of the Year honors. 

Banks, meanwhile, has the resume to back his status entering Year 2 on the Forty Acres. As a freshman, he faced four first-round edge rushers: Alabama’s Will Anderson, Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson, Iowa State’s Will McDonald and Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah. 

Combined, the quartet totaled less than a dozen pressures and one sack. Anderson, the No. 3 pick by Houston and two-time Bronko Nagurski Award winner, managed to get in the backfield twice. Anudike-Uzomah, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, never made it past the line of scrimmage. 

"Kelvin is really good on the offensive line," third-year coach Steve Sarkisian said Friday. "Not to take anything away from Christian [Jones], he's done a job, too.

Williams came off the board 21 years ago and provided depth for eight seasons in Buffalo and Washington. The year prior, Leonard Davis was selected No. 2 overall by the Atlanta Falcons. He'd make three Pro Bowls and garner All-Pro status during his decade-long stay in the league. 

Banks could break the streak of inept Texas linemen hearing their name called on Day 1 in 2025. For now, his goal — like the rest of the roster — is set on bringing Texas back to Arlington for a winner-take-all date in December. 

Along the way, scouts will continue to pay attention. His first-round status might be secure before the Longhorns make their SEC debut next September. 

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