Four-star offensive lineman Noah Banks’ recruiting process had been filled with plenty of ups and downs before he decided to commit to Florida on December 19th.
Three years ago, Troy's offer to Banks was pulled, which led him to commit to Murray State and then finally move on to play JUCO football for a year. Then, after his sophomore year at Iowa Western C.C., Banks seemed to find his eventual DI home at Arkansas. However, Bret Bielema’s firing at the school, coupled with Florida’s hiring of head coach Dan Mullen and offensive-line coach John Hevesy, led Banks to choose Florida and sign on December 20th.
Despite all of the drama that he has endured, Banks has found his home at Florida and is looking to compete for a starting job on an offensive-line with some question marks.
Today it's time to learn a little bit more about Banks on a personal level in this edition of Getting to Know.
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Take us through the process that led to your commitment. What was that experience like for you?
"I feel like the relationship that I had with John Hevesy had a lot to do with it. Hevesy, a lot of people didn’t know, recruited me actually at the beginning of the football season. Really before, kind of in the summer when he was at Mississippi State and I had just announced I was going to JUCO. We had kind of talked about skipping JUCO and just going straight to Mississippi State. But then I would have to sit out a year and I kind of knew a little bit about Mississippi State; honestly, I really just didn’t want to be in the state of Mississippi.
"The relationship kind of built up over the course of the season. We got a little bit closer and when I found out that Coach Mullen had gotten the Florida job, I didn’t even think anything about it because we had kind of stopped talking there for a few weeks after I committed to Arkansas. And I just forgot about it. And then [Bret] Bielema got fired from Arkansas, that kind of opened things up a little bit for me. I was just looking around at other options. I was like, ‘I wonder if Coach Hevesy went to where Coach Mullen went when he left Mississippi State?’
"I knew that their relationship had lasted way past Mississippi State when they were at Florida previously. So, I actually just looked it up. Looked him [Hevesy] up on Twitter and he didn’t have Mississippi State in his Twitter bio or his picture or anything. I just sent him a text and I was like, ‘Hey coach, I heard what happened. Sorry about that. Are you guys going to be looking for a new job or something?’ He said, ‘we actually just got the job at Florida. I’m glad you texted me, you’re going to be the first person I call tonight.’
"So that really ended up working out. He was like, ‘I want to have you on a visit in the next couple of weekends.’ We still had another game left. Luckily, I was able to get in there the last weekend. Coach Hevesy, he is a really good guy. I like him. The thing I like about Coach Hevesy is his offense, the things he teaches are really complex. So, if I’m trying to prepare for the next level, it will just set me up better for that. And he teaches the same things that the offensive lines coaches on the next level teach. That was really appealing to me and obviously, they’ve had a lot of success wherever they’ve been. When they were at Florida before and then what they were able to do at Mississippi State. That’s kind of crazy for me because Mississippi State had never missed a nine or ten-win season. Can you imagine what they’ll be able to do at Florida? That had a lot to do with it for sure."
Which school came in second for you and why?
"In the middle of the season, it was definitely Arkansas. I was kind of set on them, I thought that’s where I wanted to go because I wanted to run a pro-style offense just to learn something new. Spread, at the end of the day, is basically the same thing with a little tweak here and there. After that staff got fired, I was looking around and it really came down to Texas and Florida. It was really tough to turn down Texas because when I visited there, it was by far the best visit that I went on. At the end of the day, I knew going into my Florida visit, I was like, ‘they’re going to really have to screw this up for me not to go here.’ Just because I grew up around the SEC. Where I grew up, there was a lot of Florida and Florida State. I see myself being able to come in and play. I don’t think they’re bringing in a guy with two years left to sit the bench."
What was the craziest, strangest or weirdest moment of the recruiting cycle?
"Coming out of high school, I was really underdeveloped and considered a late-bloomer, so I was an average recruit. I just had some mid-major offers, a lot of Sun Belt [offers]. And I was committed to Troy. Me growing up where I did, I was a huge college football fan. Whenever all of the Power 5 offers started coming in, that was just crazy for me. Being able to talk to those coaches that you grew up watching, like Bret Bielema, Lane Kiffin, Dan Mullen, and all these dudes… it was surreal. That was just awesome, it was all just crazy."
If there is one thing you could change about the recruiting process, what would it be?
"I wouldn’t say there is a lot of change or something that I would change because the hirings and firings, as much as it sucks, it’s going happen regardless. It seems like this year was crazier than ever. I think that coming out of high school, when I got screwed over with the whole Troy situation, I feel like that kind of better served me up for this year and what was going to happen. When you think about it, when I committed to Arkansas, people can get upset and say, ‘you’re supposed to be committing to a school,’. But at the end of the day, I’m not spending 95% of my time around the student body or any of these guys. I’m with the coaches all the time and the coaching staff is really what should make you interested in going to a certain school. So I didn’t have any emotional ties to Arkansas, so that wasn’t hard for me to decommit and not go there."
If you could play a sport outside of football, which sport would it be?
"Definitely baseball for sure. It’s not nearly as physically damaging on your body. I grew up playing baseball, and that was really my sport growing up. I played travel ball and played my freshman year in high school."
What position did you play?
"Third-baseman and pitcher."
What is your favorite football memory?
"One or two years ago, my very first college football start. We were playing the University of Illinois and it was Lovie Smith’s first game and it was in front of 60,000 people. I’d been hearing all summer that the guy I’m going up against is a projected first-round draft pick. I had all of these Illinois fans greeting me and it was just a mess. In high school, the most I had ever played in front of was like 18,000 people."
What would you say are some of your greatest strengths as a football player?
"My greatest strength I would say is definitely my athleticism. I have the frame to get bigger and stronger, which I’m really looking forward to in this off-season. I love being in the weight room and just getting to work with your teammates and stuff like that. I would also say my ability to learn. I pick up things really quickly and once I get it, I got it down."
What would you need to work on when you get to UF?
"Definitely my strength is something that I could work on, which won’t be hard at all because I gain weight pretty easily. In the matter of a semester, I could gain 30 pounds if I wanted to. So, last season, I played at 335 pounds, and that was the most I had ever been. The following semester after that, I started getting to check out my diet and eat really clean. I lost 45 pounds in the matter of a semester and I was getting stronger as I was doing it. I was trying to lose weight so when I got to 295 or 300 pounds, I could build it back up with healthy muscle. So that’s the point I’m at now, which is really good, especially for where I’m going right now, where you do have that strength coach who knows what he’s doing. You do have a nutrition staff that can get your diet right. So that’s definitely exciting for me."
Who is the prospect that you have talked to the most from the Class of 2018?
"Since I was late to the jump, on my visit there, there were a lot of freshmen, 17 and 18-year-olds. We got along, but we didn’t hang out that much. I talked to Emory [Jones] a little bit, me and him got cool. There were a couple of other guys on the visits that I talked with quite a bit. A lot of the older guys that were already on the team reached out to me. We’ve just been talking a little bit because I have to find some roommates for this upcoming semester.
Who have you been talking to the most and have any of the offensive-linemen on the team reached out to you?
"After my visit, there were a lot of guys who went home because it was after finals week. One of the offensive-linemen, Brett Heggie, reached out to me. We just kind of talked it up a little bit. We talked about the upcoming semester and I was just asking him a few questions."
What is your major?
"At my old school, it was constructional engineering, but that was just too tough to do with football. And that’s what I really wanted to do. But now, I’m probably going to do something in business."
If you had a chance to go on a dream date, who would it be with?
"I would have to go with Selena Gomez on that one. No, no, no, I take that back. Niykee Heaton. She’s like a singer, kind of rapper. Whatever you want to call it."
What would be your first purchase if you got drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft?
"Right now, I’m driving a truck that could probably have an antique tag on it. I would probably go with a vehicle for my first purchase if my parents let me because they would probably skin me alive if I spent that type of money."
What is one item that you cannot live without it?
"My Xbox for sure. I look forward to it every day, after I get home from working out or going to school. That’s what I do, I play with my friends online. A lot of my friends back home, I don’t get to see them that often, so we’ll just hop on the Xbox at night and play."
What kind of games do you play?
"Madden 18 and Call of Duty: World War 2."
What is your favorite professional football team?
"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We had a harsh year, but I think next year we’ll turn it around. We had a good team this year, but there was a lot of injuries and we kind of got screwed over."
Jameis Winston is pretty good, isn’t he?
"We actually played him in high school in baseball. He came down to our school, I wasn’t playing at the time. He was pitching and he actually threw a no-hitter against us. He was throwing 96 or 97 mph easily."
Who is your favorite professional player right now?
"I might have to go with Joe Thomas or Joe Staley. Probably some offensive-linemen that people wouldn’t say are their favorite players. Growing up, obviously no one was looking at offensive-linemen during the game. But now when you watch football games, that’s kind of what you look at. I like Mike Evans. I loved Peyton Manning growing up, he was always my guy. Peyton Manning over Tom Brady for sure."
Who has been the biggest role model for you in your life?
"I’d have to say my parents. Definitely my dad for sure. He always tells me, ‘Go to college and get your degree because he says I would end up working a crappy job like him,’. It’s all motivation for sure. It definitely gets me through."
What are your favorite types of music? Do you have a favorite artist or song?
"I literally listen to everything. I listen to music a lot. If I’m just driving around, I’m probably just listening to country. But if I’m about to work out or we’re about to go out or something, I listen to rap."
What is your favorite TV show?
"I would have to say The Office. I love that show. It’s addicting and I can watch it over and over again."
If you could be one person in the world, who would that be?
"I would say probably a big-time, high-K major league baseball pitcher because they literally don’t do anything and they get paid a tremendous amount of money. That would be the freaking dream job right there. Definitely not playing offensive-linemen for the rest of my life. I love it, but doing it for a career does not sound fun."
If you could meet one person in the world, who would that be?
"I’d have to say Tim Tebow, the Pouncey twins, or Steve Spurrier. I think I’ll run into them one of these days when I’m at Florida."
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