Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Davon Banks Re-Emerges with Pick-6 for Boise State

The cornerback was making his first start for the Mountain West soon to be Pac-12 team.

Dan Raley

Former Husky cornerback Davon Banks takes out San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash and later had a 70-yard pick-6 for Boise State.
Former Husky cornerback Davon Banks takes out San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash and later had a 70-yard pick-6 for Boise State. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Everyone talks about all of the offensive-line talent that departed the University of Washington football team following the Huskies' run to the CFP national championship game. Well, the UW defensive backs who fled the scene for the transfer portal and other college destinations weren't bad either.

Safety Mishael Powell leads once-beaten Miami in interceptions with 4. Cornerback Jabbar Muhammad tops No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Oregon in pass break-ups with 9. Safety Asa Turner started for rebuilding Florida before suffering a season-ending injury.

On Saturday, former Husky corner Davon Banks showed he still can make things happen, as well, by returneing a pass interception 70 yards for a touchdown to cap off Boise State's 41-21 victory over San Jose State in the Bay Area, moving the now 12th-ranked Mountain West team to 9-1.

Banks, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior from San Jacinto, California, came off the bench in Boise State's first nine games before drawing a start at San Jose State as part of a three-corner defensive scheme. He has 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack, 2 pass break-ups and now that interception going the distance.

This past spring, Banks appeared healthy enough for Jedd Fisch's new Husky coaching staff and came up with a pair of interceptions in one practice. Yet after coming back from consecutive season-ending injuries, he seemed mired well down in the rotation, often coming out with the third set of corners. 

So he left.

Arizona State receiver Bryan Thompson catches a pass in 2022 under the guard of Washington's Davon Banks, now at Boise State.
Arizona State receiver Bryan Thompson catches a pass in 2022 under the guard of Washington's Davon Banks, now at Boise State. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Banks became the first UW player to enter the transfer portal after giving Fisch's coaching staff a try and ended up at Boise State, which seemed ironic. That previous season, he appeared in just two games and came up with an wieldy 4 pass break-ups in UW's season-opening 56-19 victory over the Broncos, the team he now plays for, one taking him back to the Pac-12 at some point.

Before getting hurt, he seemed on a steady career ascent with the Huskies. In 2022 as a redshirt freshman, Banks appeared in eight games and started twice before dislocating his shoulder while making a tackle against Oregon State and missing the rest of the schedule, including an Alamo Bowl victory over Texas.

Last season, Banks went from his sensational opening performance against Boise State to getting hurt in the next outing against Tulsa and missing out on most of a 14-1 season that sent the Huskies to the Pac-12 title game against Oregon, the Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinals against Texas and the national championship game against Michigan.

He looks healthy enough now.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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