DALLAS (FWAA) – Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., was named the recipient of the 79th Outland Trophy on Thursday night during The Home Depot College Football Awards. The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s best college interior lineman on offense or defense. Banks is the Longhorns’ fifth Outland Trophy winner and their second consecutive awardee.
This is only the third time for one school to have consecutive Outland Trophy winners and the first time since 1983, following Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat’s honor last season. Nebraska players won consecutive awards in 1971-72 and three straight from 1981-83.
Banks, a 6-4, 320-pound junior from Humble, Texas, was selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America from three finalists that also included defensive tackle Mason Graham of Michigan and Walter Nolen of Ole Miss. Banks is the second offensive lineman of the past three seasons to win the Outland Trophy (Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi in 2022) and the fourth from the offensive side of the last seven seasons. Texas’ new affiliation in the Southeastern Conference gives the SEC an Outland winner in three of the last five seasons.
Game after game, Banks consistently grades among the FBS’ top linemen and earlier this week earned first team All-SEC honors. He is a three-year starter with 39 consecutive starts at left tackle along a Longhorns offensive line that is also a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, honoring the nation’s most outstanding offensive line unit. He was the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week on Oct. 15 following Texas’ 34-3 win over rival Oklahoma and earned the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice (Sept. 30 and Oct. 14).
Heading into its second straight College Football Playoff, hosting Clemson in a Dec. 21 first round game, Texas’ offense is averaging 445.4 yards per game, 33.6 points per game and 6.2 yards per play with Banks as its cornerstone at left tackle. The Longhorns are No. 13 in the FBS in passing offense (281 ypg), 15th in team passing efficiency (154.92), 16th in completion percentage (66.3 percent), 18th in total offense (445.4 ypg) and 25th in scoring offense (33.6 ppg). Texas averages 164.4 yards and 4.5 yards per carry and has rushed for more than 100 yards in 10 of 12 games.
Behind Banks’ protection, junior quarterback Quinn Ewers has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,665 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 242.27 yards per contest in 11 starts. Ewers boasts a 24-game passing touchdown streak, the longest active streak by an FBS quarterback and the second-longest streak in program history behind Colt McCoy's program-record 29 games.
Banks is the latest winner among Texas’ fine tradition with the Outland Trophy. Prior to Sweat’s award last season were defensive tackle Brad Shearer (1977), defensive lineman Tommy Nobis (1965) and tackle Scott Appleton (1963). Like Banks, each of Texas’ previous Outland Trophy winners, finalists or semifinalists was a native Texan. Banks is coached by offensive line coach Kyle Flood.
Nebraska’s back-to-back winners were Larry Jacobson (1971) and Rich Glover (1972) followed by Dave Rimington (1981, '82) and Dean Steinkuhler (1983).
The official presentation to Banks will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 22, 2025.
The Outland Trophy is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since. Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 800 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.