Texas Longhorns OT Kelvin Banks Jr. Named Finalist for Major Award

Texas football senior and offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was nabbed as one of the four finalists for the Lombardi Award, a trophy that celebrates the best offensive or defensive lineman in college football.

Among Banks Jr. in the other finalists spots are LSU’s offensive tackle Will Campbell, Penn State’s defensive end Abdul Carter and South Carolina’s EDGE defender Kyle Kennard.

This is just another award for the offensive tackle. After the Mississippi State win, Banks Jr. was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week and repeated that award against Oklahoma. In addition, Banks Jr. also was named the Outland Trophy’s National Player of the Week for his performance against the Sooners.

Before the season, Banks Jr. was called First Team All-America by the Associated Press, CBS Sports, ESPN, Sporting News, and The Athletic as well as the preseason First Team All-SEC team by both media and coaches.

The Texas offense has been successful partially because of Banks Jr., he is ranked as the highest Texas player on the PFF Big Board at 11.

According to the official Texas Longhorns website, the Longhorns rank ninth nationally in team passing efficiency (162.81), 12th in passing offense (288.6), 13th in completion percentage (67.9) and scoring offense (37 ppg), and 18th in total offense (450.2 ypg).

These stats have also helped propel the Longhorns offensive line to be a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award earlier this month.

If Banks Jr. wins, this would be the fourth time a Longhorn has won the Lombardi Award. The other three to win are Kenneth Sims (1981), Tony Degrate (1984), and Brian Orakpo (2008).

This year’s award dinner will take place on Dec. 11th after the regular season concludes.

In the meantime, Banks Jr. and the Longhorns face the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday for their next opponent.

The game in Austin will kickoff at 2:30 on ABC.

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