Where Kelvin Banks’ Commitment Fits in Oregon Recruiting History

The Ducks made a big statement by landing the five-star tackle.

Author:
Reid Tingley
Publish date:
Jul 5, 2021 2:41 PM EDT

The Ducks landed a big commitment from Kelvin Banks on Sunday, no matter how you look at it. In terms of physical stature, Banks is an imposing 6-foot-4, 315-pounds. If you measure by rankings, Banks is a 5-star.

His offer list is lengthy and decorated by many “big” time programs, including Alabama, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M. Those last two were the Ducks main competition down the stretch given that, unsurprisingly, Banks comes from the land of all things “big”: Texas.

But my favorite phrase using big in regards to the Banks’ recruitment is the word statement. This recruitment was a BIG statement for the Ducks and their head coach Mario Cristobal.

Some readers may be suspicious. Maybe you're asking, “how big of a statement was it really?” I’ll rephrase that question. Where does Kelvin Banks’ commitment rank among the historical pantheon of greatest Oregon victories on the recruiting trail?

I can’t answer that exactly, we’ll need a bit more time and perspective first, but I do think it’s up there. I think it’s probably in the top five. And I wonder if most Ducks fans would say that.

Each great Ducks’ recruitment has proven something new and carried a unique significance beyond a star rating or stat line.

The De’Anthony Thomas recruitment cemented Oregon as the preeminent West Coast power and the Black Mamba’s dynamic speed and playmaking defined Oregon’s brand for years to come.

The Kayvon Thibodeaux recruitment showed that Oregon could get the top player in the country when every major program showed up at his doorstep, even Nick Saban and Alabama.

The Penei Sewell recruitment was masterful from start to finish. The staff was solid in their evaluation, recruitment, and development. Sewell’s transformation into a generational talent illustrated the promise of the Cristobal era.

The Jonathan Stewart and Haloti Ngata recruitments were before my time and the recruiting industry was far different then, but both those players deserve a mention as well.

The Kelvin Banks recruitment proved that Oregon could land a 5-star talent from outside of its region against major in state programs.

If you scroll through the Ducks’ all time highest rated commitments, there’s a lot of West Coast states. California and Utah make-up the vast majority of the list and other states like Oregon, Hawaii, Washington, and Arizona are perennial Oregon recruiting grounds.

The only two commitments you can compare to Banks in terms of recruiting ranking and distance are running back Lache Seastrunk and cornerback Dontae Manning. Seastrunk transferred to Baylor after his redshirt freshman year. Manning was an amazing get, but the Ducks didn’t face a real in-state opponent in Missouri.

Texas is a whole different animal, particularly when UT and A&M were as heavily involved as they were for Banks. I truly believe that the Banks recruitment should be mentioned right alongside all the ones I listed above. If you aren’t convinced yet, let me lay out more context around this recruitment.

Let’s take a step back and go rewind to early April when the Ducks looked like a bit of a long shot to overcome distance and beat out the in-state programs for Banks. Coincidentally, I had just joined Ducks Digest. My first assignment was a two-part piece about Oregon’s effort to resurrect a recruiting pipeline in Texas after a few dormant years in recent cycles.

The first part discussed topics including Steve Sarkisian’s introductory comments about recruiting the West Coast, past Ducks’ legends from Texas, the two Oregon commits from Texas at that time (Landon Hullaby and Stephon Johnson), and the abstract promise of setting up shop in one of the three most talent-rich states in the country.

In the second part, I focused more on the specific prospects Oregon was recruiting in Texas. At the top of my list of primary targets was Kelvin Banks.

“Banks is among the biggest names on the board for Oregon in this cycle.” I wrote, “His commitment alone would likely lead most fans to declare the program’s venture into Texas a success.”

Now that forecast has come to bear and Ducks fans are indeed celebrating a successful venture into Texas. But while Banks' decision was the ultimate marker of success, it was preceded by a bold strategy implemented with near flawless execution by the Oregon staff. That was required to convince a prospect as highly-coveted as Banks to leave his home state.

Of course, Oregon nailed the visit with Banks and Cristobal hammered home his greatest hits. Any fan of the Ducks should know them by now: the process-oriented culture, the Oregon brand, and the focus on O-line above all else from the head coach. It’s a great pitch, but the Ducks were determined to deliver something more.

So the staff got creative. They launched a plan to build a pipeline in the state of Texas with the end goal of securing a commitment from Banks. The Ducks' efforts resulted in four commitments from the Lone Star State heading into Banks’ decision, and undoubtedly helped to neutralize the cultural pull to stay in-state. In my opinion, this is what helped to swing the recruitment.

But this strategy had another component which aided its success, it was stealth. The effort eluded the radar of most Longhorns and Aggies fans, who were seemingly blindsided by the Ducks' involvement in the final stretch. They didn’t understand how Oregon was taking over their home state and they felt it was a violation of the tradition of Texas football.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Cristobal’s recruiting mentality during his time in Eugene, it’s that he refuses to be limited by historical expectations. That means he cares little about the opinions of the traditional power brokers of the sport in Texas or the fans complaining about how Texas prospects leaving to play in Oregon will ruin college football.

Ultimately it’s that spirit of innovation and determination in spite of historical expectations and traditions that has defined the rise of Oregon football. Kelvin Banks’ commitment to the Ducks on Sunday was the latest chapter in that same story.

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