STARKVILLE — There’s a moment minutes before kickoff every Saturday when Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks does something in drills his position coach has never seen.
MSU cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith, a 25-year coaching veteran who has spent 21 of those years in the Magnolia State, will see Banks backpedal, turn his hips, and catch a pass with his right arm while keeping a foot inbounds.
“He’s probably the best (defensive back he’s ever coached) because John would rather please you than anything else,” Smith said.
After recruiting Banks three years ago out of East Webster High, a Class 1A program in Maben, MSU coach Dan Mullen knew he had a football player regardless of the position, which is why he stuck the freshman at free safety to get him on the field.
“John Banks came in here with great ball skills after being a high school quarterback and point guard on the basketball team,” Mullen said. “It then became (the job for) our coaching staff to teach him how to play a position.”
The results were impressive, as Banks had four interceptions in back-to-back games against Middle Tennessee and the University of Florida. Against Florida, Banks returned two interceptions for touchdowns, including a 100-yard return before the end of the first half.
“After that game I probably had about 1,000 friend requests on Facebook and hundreds of text messages,” Banks said. “Everybody (in Starkville) knew who I was when I go through town just because of that game. It went crazy.”
After his touchdown, ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge talked on the 2009 broadcast about a story a member of the MSU coaching staff told him.
“Dan Mullen was worried as signing day approached that Johnthan Banks would denounce his commitment, but the Mississippi State coaching staff assured him they’d found a kid nobody had seen because his school doesn’t even show up on a modern day GPS,” Blackledge said.
While you may have trouble finding the high school in the Cumberland community that has moved up to Class 2A, Banks returns regularly to his old stomping grounds. He was a frequent visitor earlier this year after a tornado ripped through the area April 27 and destroyed school buildings and the football field house. The destruction left doubt as to
whether the Wolverines would be able to start their football season this fall.
“I keep in touch with everybody all the time and I’m home checking on my school,” Banks said. “I remember during the morning after the storm I went out there to check on if everybody was cool. We all came together as a family and everything is getting fixed up with our program.”
Two weeks ago, Banks contradicted the story about the possibility of him choosing another school, saying he was destined to come to the MSU campus even if they didn’t initially want him.
“I shouldn’t say this, but I would’ve walked on here,” Banks said with a smile. “Coach Mullen, he could take my scholarship right now, I’d still walk on.”
That’s not likely to happen now that Banks leads the defense with five interceptions and 13 passes defended this season.
“The experience he has is really starting to pay off,” Mullen said. “He understands how to play defensive back. He’s comfortable at that position, and he’s also applying it on how to attack offenses and utilize his knowledge and what he knows to become the best he can be and take his game to that next level.”
Banks is getting noticed nationally as one of the best defensive backs in college football. On Monday, he was named one of the 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award. The award is given to the best defensive back in Division I college football.
“It’s just an honor to be on that list, and I’m not worried about if I get the award or not because things like this just make me want to go harder in practice,” Banks said.
The former East Webster standout is tied for fifth in the country in pass breakups and is tied for third in the nation with five interceptions. He is MSU’s first Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist since Pig Prather (2001). Fred Smoot (2000) was the only finalist.
In the spring before the 2010 season, Banks was moved to cornerback and immediately fell in love with his new position.
“I feel comfortable playing corner and I told (MSU defensive backs coach Melvin Smith) I think I like playing corner better than I like playing anything else,” Banks said in June.
At the beginning of the season, Banks had a friendly competition with Corey Broomfield, the cornerback on the other side.
“I told him I’ve got my cast off (Broomfield’s previously broken left thumb) and now it’s back on again,” Broomfield said.
Not to compare Banks to Smoot, who went on to play in the NFL, but Smith and the Bulldogs feel Banks’ confidence on and off the field warrants the comparison.
“He has the confidence of a great football player, of a great basketball player, of a great father, and the confidence of a man,” Smith said. “He cares about his teammates being happy with him a lot more than what he thinks of himself, so it’s a different type of mentality and a winning mind-set.”
Banks said Tuesday he doesn’t think he’s in the same category as Smoot, but he would like the opportunity to play professional football in less than two years when he graduates from college.
“I want to play in the NFL and have some years in that league,” Banks said. “What I want to do beyond football is be a highway patrolman and just be around my son and watch him grow up.”
Banks has added punt return duties to his production. The junior is 33rd in the nation in punt return yardage this season (97) in his first full season.
Banks joked in the summer he’d love to get the ball in his hands even if it meant playing in some offensive sets.
“Our guys were really physical on punt return up front, and that’s a team effort because on one return there wasn’t a guy without 30 or 40 yards from me once I caught the ball,” Banks said. “If I get a crease I can get some yards.”
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