Better Know a Newcomer: Sevyn Banks

It’s no secret that corner might be the single biggest cause for concern for LSU in 2022.

Quite literally all four of LSU’s top-four corners on the 2021 depth chart will be playing football somewhere else this fall. Derek Stingley and Cordale Flott are playing for the Houston Texans and New York Giants respectively, while Eli Ricks (Alabama) and Dwight McGlothern (Arkansas) transferred within the division.

Facing a desperate need at corner LSU is trying the ole “bring in a guy from Ohio State” play in 2022. It worked the last time with Joe Burrow, can Sevyn Banks make it 2-2?

The Story

A Florida native coming out of high school in 2018, Banks was an Under Armour All-American with offers galore. Bama, Auburn, Florida, and Notre Dame were just a few of the dozens of schools to offer Banks. But Banks spurned the hometown Gators and headed north to Columbus where he played in 36 games with 15 starts—including all eight of Ohio State’s games played in their run to the national championship game in 2020.

Banks earned honorable mentions on the 2020 All-Big 10 team and was a third-team preseason All-American heading into 2021. But knee and hip injuries limited Banks to 9 games and while Banks had planned to enter the 2022 NFL Draft, the medical report on his hip reportedly wasn’t great and Banks had to change course and return to school. But by that point, Ohio State had moved on and Banks was forced to enter the transfer portal; two and a half months later, Banks wound up in Baton Rouge after his former DC Kerry Combs, who worked with Brian Kelly at Cincinnati, vouched for him.

The Numbers

36 career games played in, 15 starts; 43 tackles, 3 TFLs; 13 PBUs, 2 INTs

The Film

The Future

This is Banks’s final year of eligibility remaining so hopefully he makes the most of his one and only season in Baton Rouge. With just under three weeks to go until the 2022 season begins, I’m curious to see where Banks is on the unofficial depth chart. Reports out of fall camp are saying Oklahoma State transfer Jarrick Bernard-Converse and ULL transfer Mekhi Garner are the boundary corners, while Arkansas transfer Greg Brooks has been handling the nickel corner role. A surprising contender has also emerged in the form of grad transfer Colby Richardson out of McNeese State. LSU’s definitely got the bodies in the secondary, now it just needs to find out the combination that works.

High End: Earns a starting role in a new-look LSU secondary and plays well enough to become a day three 2023 NFL Draft pick.

Low End: Provides depth and comes in for dime packages but the wear and tear from his injuries limits his impact on the secondary

Realistic: It all just depends on his health. If the hip and knee are okay, Banks ought to be a starter if not heavy contributor. Banks has played in three CFP games including the 2021 national championship game against Alabama. That experience alone should earn him a spot on the field this fall.