Early enrollee: Defensive back Bryce Banks
Defensive Back
Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge High
6-foot-2, 184 pounds
Measurables: At the Nike Opening in Columbus, Ohio, ran the shuttle in 4.24 seconds and had a 33.9-inch vertical leap.
Stats:
• Senior: Made 30 tackles including one for a loss, and broke up six passes.
• Junior: Had 31 tackles and eight pass breakups.
Ratings:
• Rivals.com: Two stars.
• Scout.com: Three stars, No. 70 safety in the country.
• 247Sports: Two stars, No. 150 safety in the country, No. 23 in the state.
• ESPN: Three stars, No. 118 safety in the country, No. 18 in the state.
Honors/accomplishments:
• Selected first-team All-USA Missouri by USA Today.
• Picked to the Columbia Daily Tribune All-Area first team as a senior.
• Named second team all-state in 2015 by the state’s sportswriters and sportscasters, who also selected him first-team all-district.
Recruitment:
• Verbally committed to Missouri over the summer after earning an offer at their camp.
• Decommitted late-summer from the Tigers and took official visits to Illinois (Dec. 4) and NC State (Nov. 21) in the fall.
• Verbally committed to NCSU on Dec. 10 and enrolled early.
Recruiter of record:
• Cornerbacks coach George Barlow
Quotable:
“Even though I think he has a really high ceiling and hasn’t really come close to meeting what I think he’s going to be, he’s also a kid that’s put a lot of time into his craft. He’s not a blank slate coming in. He’s got a pretty good foundation. But what he’s going to be down the road is what I think is most intriguing to colleges.” — Rock Bridge head coach A.J. Ofodile to the Columbia Daily Tribune
Scouting report:
• Good-sized and athletic defensive back.
• Due to frame and athleticism, has the potential to play either corner or safety.
• Still considered a raw but with a high ceiling.
2016 projection:
Banks is an inspirational story of overcoming a difficult upbringing to reach high-level college football. He reportedly saw someone getting shot for the first time when he was five years old and numerous family members had troubles with the law. Thus Banks may be the type that you should not bet against playing early and making an impact, especially with lack of depth and experience at cornerback.