Envisioning Roles for Florida's Transfers: DL Caleb Banks
Photo: Caleb Banks; Credit: Florida Gators Creative Media
When Billy Napier arrived in Gainesville, he made his plans for Florida football clear: Tear everything down and rebuild the Gators from scratch.
If Napier's transparency throughout his first offseason in charge wasn't enough to convince UF fans of that reality, his last two months as the program's head coach certainly should.
Since the second half of November 2022, Florida completed its first repeat losing season in the SEC since the 1950s, saw 22 scholarship players enter the transfer portal, welcomed ten FBS transfers into the university after acquiring six last offseason and signed Napier's first complete high school recruiting class, a haul including two or more signees at six different positions.
Florida football is going to look different in Napier's second year at the helm, undoubtedly. Whether it will be improved or not remains to be seen, but the incoming transfers — the majority of them, at least — will be expected to push the Gators in the right direction sooner rather than later.
All Gators is projecting roles for every Florida transfer acquisition ahead of the 2023 season. Having covered quarterback Graham Mertz, running back Cameron Carroll, guard Micah Mazzccua and tackles Damieon George Jr. and Kiyaunta Goodwin already, today we'll flip sides in the trenches to cover Louisville defensive line transfer Caleb Banks.
Banks was Florida's first transfer acquisition of the offseason, committing to the Gators on Dec. 11, 2022, less than a week after officially entering the portal. Despite a lack of playing time in two seasons at Louisville and an unheralded recruiting profile, Banks earned 12 transfer offers within three days of becoming a college free agent.
He seemingly proved his potential across his 47 defensive snaps in a Cardinals uniform, after signing with the program as the No. 117 defensive lineman in the country in the class of 2021 per the 247Sports composite rankings.
Banks, who checked in at 6-foot-5 3/4, 318 pounds on Feb. 1 per Napier, recorded two total tackles — one for loss — a sack, a forced fumble and four quarterback pressures across his nine defensive appearances at Louisville, according to Pro Football Focus. He began his career strictly as a nose tackle in 2021 but expanded to three-technique and defensive end on both sides of the formation in 2022.
When you look at Banks' production and factor his limited playing time into the equation, it becomes easier to understand his upside. Banks rushed the passer 18 times as a redshirt freshman, registering a quarterback pressure once every six snaps on average.
In a necessary effort to replenish the Gators' defensive trench — following the offseason departures of Gervon Dexter Sr. (NFL Draft) and Jalen Lee (transfer to LSU), not to mention lacking depth across the unit before the duo left — Banks' potential pairs well with the high school signings of Kelby Collins, Kamran James, Will Norman and Gavin Hill.
Cam'Ron Jackson's transfer in from Memphis provides UF with a ready-to-play nose tackle who is positionally versatile, too.
RELATED: Looking back on, and forward to, Florida's defensive line unit
But where will Banks, who should be certain to net an uptick in usage from his Lousiville days, fit into the Gators' defensive line?
His bounded time spent at both defensive ends and both defensive tackle positions make such a projection difficult. That could be a good thing for Florida: Perhaps Banks is versatile enough to line up wherever the Gators need or want him to depending on down, distance and formation.
However, it's easy to look at Banks' frame and potential to create pressure and immediately think of Dexter's primary role within coordinator Patrick Toney's UF defense: Tackle.
While Dexter compared the position to an end last year during fall practice as his technique widened out, he often aligned as a three-tech or 4i-tech between the outside shoulder of an offensive guard and the inside shoulder of the offensive tackle completing that B-gap. Dexter, 6-foot-6, 312 pounds, often took on double teams to open up lanes for his linebackers and edge rushers.
Time will tell where Banks fits best in Florida's defensive scheme and if Napier and Co. struck gold in their evaluation of his minimal college film. Efficiency statistics and Louisville's comfort in flexing Banks around its defensive line are reasons to believe Banks has a bright future ahead of him with a larger snap share.
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