Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State: 2013 NFL Draft Player Profile

Jan 01, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Johnthan Banks (13) warms up before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 185 pounds

Position Rank:

Drafted By:

40 Yard Dash: 4.61

Bench Press: 10

Vertical Jump: 34″

Broad Jump: 125″

2012 Statistics

Career Highlights (via Miss. St. athletics site)

CAREER: Named a first-team preseason 2012 All-American by Athlon and a second-team All-American by Phil Steele . . . Earned preseason 2012 All-SEC first-team honors from the SEC Coaches, Athlon, Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, Birmingham News, Lindys, Phil Steele and USA Today . . . Also named second-team All-SEC for all-purpose by the SEC Coaches and third-team All-SEC special teams by Phil Steele and Lindys . . . Named to the 2012 Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award and 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list . . . Established himself as one of the top defensive backs in the country after a stellar 2011 regular season . . . Second in school history with 12 career interceptions, only four away from tying Walt Harris’ school record of 16 set from 1992-95 . . . A member of the AP All-SEC second team in 2011 . . . Has earned 32 career starts at both corner and safety . . . Leads all active FBS players along with teammate Corey Broomfield and six others with three interception returns for touchdowns (tied for school record and two shy of the national record) . . . Tied for fourth among active FBS players with 12 career interceptions . . . Seventh among active players in interceptions per game (.3) and career interception return yards (196) . . . Made the switch from safety to corner following an outstanding true freshman campaign . . . Provided a highlight of the 2009 season with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against Tim Tebow of Florida.

2011: Named to the AP All-SEC second team . . . Started all 13 games, totaling 71 tackles (46 solo), 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, nine pass breakups, five interceptions with one returned for a touchdown . . .  Also returned 16 punts for 166 yards and a score . . . Named semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back . . . Mississippi State’s first semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award since Pig Prather in 2001 . . . Named Conerly Trophy finalist, given annually to the top player in the state of Mississippi . . . Named third-team All-SEC by Phil Steele . . . Honorable mention Phil Steele Midseason All-American . . . Named to the Lindy’s preseason All-SEC second team and SEC Coaches preseason All-SEC third team . . . Tied for 14th in the nation with five interceptions (T-4th in SEC), which also tied for seventh-most in a single season in school history . . . Tied for 38th in the country with 14 passes defended (4th in SEC) . . . Ranked 23rd in the NCAA (5th in SEC) in punt-return average per game (10.4) . . . Second among all defensive backs in the SEC with 3.0 sacks, while also totaling 7.5 tackles for loss . . . Tied for 10th in the SEC with two forced fumbles . . . One of two players in the NCAA to have returned a punt and an interception for a touchdown . . . Returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown at Auburn on Sept. 10 . . . Recorded an interception against No. 3 LSU on Sept. 15, one of only three interceptions LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee threw the entire season . . . Registered his first sack of the season against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 24, and followed that up with a 12-yard tackle for loss at Georgia on Oct. 1 . . . Responsible for two interceptions in the South Carolina game, intercepting one pass and tipping the ball to teammate Nickoe Whitley for another pick . . . Held South Carolina All-American receiver Alshon Jeffery to his lowest yards-per-catch output of the season on Oct. 15 (4.8 YPC) . . . Recorded six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble at Kentucky . . . Notched his first-career punt return for a touchdown with a 65-yard touchdown return vs. UT Martin . . . Recorded his third sack of the season and forced his second fumble of the 2011 campaign at Arkansas in MSU’s first game on CBS since 2005 . . . In the Egg Bowl victory vs. rival Ole Miss, totaled a career-high and team-best 2.5 tackles for loss, five total tackles and one forced fumble . . . Recorded seven tackles and 0.5 TFL in a Music City Bowl victory against Wake Forest.

2010: Started the 12 of 13 games at his left cornerback position . . . Picked off three passes and added seven pass breakups on the year . . . Posted 54 total tackles, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage . . . Earned the starting job at left corner after making the switch from safety in the offseason . . . Recorded his first career sack in Week 2 against Auburn . . . Intercepted a first-quarter pass at Florida and returned it 12 yards . . . Picked off a Kentucky pass two weeks later . . . Credited with eight tackles and a pair of pass breakups against UAB . . . Posted nine tackles against Arkansas . . . Intercepted his seventh career pass in Gator Bowl win over Michigan . . . Also posted four tackles and broke up a pair of passes in the game.

2009: Named Freshman All-Southeastern Conference by the league’s coaches . . . Earned SEC Freshman of the Week following the Florida game . . . Played in all 12 games during his true freshman season on campus . . . Saw action mainly on special teams until an opportunity to start in Week 6 . . . Started each of the last seven games after entering the lineup . . . Posted six tackles against Houston, his first defensive action . . . Intercepted a pair of passes against Middle Tennessee the following week . . . Intercepted a pair of Tim Tebow passes and returned both for touchdowns against Florida . . . His 100-yard return on the final play of the first half was one of the biggest moments of the 2009 season . . . Recorded seven tackles against Alabama.

Scouting Report/Player Notes

Johnthan Banks is probably one of if not the top cornerback prospect available in the entire crop of players available in 2013. He has height, weight, speed, and he can really do it all. He’s a leader on the Mississippi State defense, a team that is competing for a national title in 2012. He has excellent length and overall quickness, but it’s his ability to create turnovers that will attract NFL scouts the most. Banks forced three fumbled and picked off five passes as a junior when he could have easily declared for the draft and been one of the first CBs taken, and as a senior, he already has four interceptions. He’s been playing well since he was a freshman, where he wasn’t a highly recruited player but has always overachieved and become one of the top defenders in the nation. As a freshman, he had four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. On his career, he has picked off 16 passes and counting, and he really offers some versatility in terms of his ability to return punts and play multiple positions on the defense. You kind of get a “poor man’s” Charles Woodson vibe out of him. He can make plays all over the field, and I think he’ll hear his name called in the first 32 picks barring some kind of injury.

Video Highlights (via YouTube)