Freddie Banks (born July 4, 1988) is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach who is currently the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the Colorado State Rams. He played college football at

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as th ...

Playing career

Banks graduated from Thornwood High School in

South Holland, Illinois South Holland is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, within Thornton Township. The population was 21,465 at the 2020 census. History The area currently occupied by South Holland, Illinois, was first ...

in 2006. As a college freshman in 2006, Banks played as a cornerback at NCAA Division II Mercyhurst. He recorded 33 total tackles, one interception and one forced fumble in his single season at Mercyhurst. Banks transferred to

following the 2006 season and sat out the 2007 season as a redshirt. He played in all eleven games at cornerback during the 2008 season as part of a defense that led the NCAA Division I FCS in pass defense. He saw limited playing time in 2009 before starting 12 games for the team in 2010, his senior season. He recorded 48 tackles, an interception and six pass breakups as part of North Dakota State's first ever NCAA Division I FCS playoff team.

Coaching career

Banks' coaching career began at NCAA Division II Minnesota State–Moorhead, where he coached

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, eventually rising to the role of

. After two seasons at Minnesota State–Moorhead, Banks was hired as the defensive backs coach for Nicholls State, where he remained for two years. He then spent a year as defensive coordinator for Livonia High School in Livonia, Louisiana, before spending three seasons at NCAA Division II Midwestern State as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Banks served as the defensive backs coach at Stephen F. Austin for the 2018 and 2019 seasons before being hired as Nevada's new defensive backs coach in 2020. He was hired by

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

as defensive coordinator the following year, and helped lead the team to an appearance in the

2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game The 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game played to determine a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the 2021 FCS season. It was contested at Toyo ...

. In 2022, Banks was hired as

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

's new defensive coordinator. He had previously coached under Colorado State's head coach

Jay Norvell Merritt James Norvell III (born March 28, 1963) is an American college football coach and former player who is currently the head coach for the Colorado State Rams. Norvell served as the head football coach at University of Nevada, Reno from 2017 ...

when both were at Nevada in 2020.

Personal life

Banks was born on July 4, 1988, in Harvey, Illinois, to parents Ray and Izola Banks. He has five sisters. Married to Candace with two children Dakota Daughter Ace Son

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Freddie 1988 births Living people People from Harvey, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football defensive backs Mercyhurst Lakers football players North Dakota State Bison football players Coaches of American football from Illinois Minnesota State–Moorhead Dragons football coaches Nicholls Colonels football coaches High school football coaches in Louisiana Midwestern State Mustangs football coaches Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football coaches Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Montana State Bobcats football coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches