Johnthan Shuntay Banks (born October 3, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He played

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 ...

at Mississippi State, where he received

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors. He was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in the second round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Early years

Banks was born in Maben, Mississippi. He attended East Webster High School in Cumberland, where he played

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the East Webster Wolverines

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. Considered a three-star recruit by

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite be ...

, Banks was listed as the No. 41 safety in the nation in 2009.

College career

Banks enrolled in

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, where he played for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team from 2009 to 2012. He compiled 221 tackles, a school record, 16

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, four

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s and four

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. He was originally a

, but made the switch to cornerback as a sophomore. Following his senior season in 2012, he won the Jim Thorpe Award for the top defensive back in college football. He also received first-team All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, and Scout.com, and was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection.

Professional career

Prior to the

, Banks was considered one of the best cornerback prospects but after the disappointing NFL combine, most NFL scouts put him as a late first-round or an early second-round pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 26, 2013, Banks was drafted by the

in the second round (43rd overall) in the

. He was the sixth cornerback taken in the 2013 NFL draft behind

Dee Milliner DeMarcus Armon "Dee" Milliner (born September 14, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama Crimson Tide football, Alabama, ...

D. J. Hayden Derek Sherrard "D. J." Hayden, Jr. (born June 27, 1990) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Houston and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 2013 NFL Dr ...

, Desmond Trufant,

Xavier Rhodes Xavier Rhodes (born June 19, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (25th ov ...

, and fellow college teammate

Darius Slay Darius Demetrius Slay Jr. (born January 1, 1991) is an American football cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the s ...

, respectively. On May 23, 2013, Banks signed his four-year contract with the

, worth $4.726 million, including a $1.817 million bonus. Banks got his first interception against Carson Palmer and the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

on September 29, 2013. During the season, he contracted

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

(MSRA), thought to be attributed to unsanitary conditions at the Buccaneers' training facility. Despite the infection, he finished his rookie season with 55 tackles and 3 interceptions. After training camp and the preseason, Banks was named the starting cornerback opposite

Alterraun Verner Alterraun Ennis Verner (born December 13, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL ...

. The Tampa 2 system installed by head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...

proved to play to Banks' strengths as he notched 50 tackles, 10 passes defensed, and four interceptions for the 2014 season.

Detroit Lions

Banks was traded to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

for a seventh round pick on November 1, 2016. He was released by the Lions on December 3, 2016.

Chicago Bears

On December 5, 2016, Banks was signed by the Bears. On March 11, 2017, Banks signed a one-year contract with the Bears. He was released on September 2, 2017.

Houston Texans

On September 20, 2017, Banks signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. He was released on October 10, 2017.

References

External links

*
Mississippi State Bulldogs bio

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Johnthan 1989 births Living people American football cornerbacks Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Players of American football from Mississippi Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players Houston Texans players People from Maben, Mississippi