From the UT athletic department:
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Football left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. has been named the winner of the 51st Lombardi Award, the Rotary Club of Houston announced Wednesday evening. The award honors the most outstanding college football lineman who displays exceptional performance and ability while embodying the character and discipline that Vince Lombardi championed throughout his life.
Banks is the fourth Longhorn and first offensive lineman to win the prestigious award, becoming the first recipient since defensive end Brian Orakpo in 2008. Defensive tackle’s Tony Degrate (1984) and Kenneth Sims (1981) took home the trophy in the 1980s. Nine other Longhorns have been finalists, including Justin Blalock (2006), Rodrique Wright (2005), Derrick Johnson (2004), Cory Redding (2002), Doug Dawson (1983), Steve McMichael (1979), Brad Shearer (1977), Bill Wyman (1973) and Jerry Sisemore (1972).
The 6-foot-4 offensive lineman from Humble, Texas, was previously named the recipient of the SEC’s prestigious Jacobs Blocking Trophy and was honored as a first-team All-SEC member. Banks is also a finalist for the 2024 Outland Trophy.
A three-year starter who has started 39-straight games at left tackle for the Longhorns, Banks is a key member of the Texas offensive line that was recently tabbed a finalist for the Joe Moore Award which goes to the nation’s most outstanding offensive line unit. Banks received multiple weekly honors this season, including the Outland Trophy's National Player of the Week on Oct. 15, and SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice (Sept. 30 and Oct. 14). Prior to the season, Banks was named preseason first-team All-America by The Associated Press, CBS Sports, ESPN, Sporting News and The Athletic in addition to being honored on the preseason first-team All-SEC by the media and league's coaches.
With Banks' veteran leadership in the trenches, UT's offense ranks 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). The Texas offense has rushed for over 100 yards in 10 of 12 games and three different Longhorn running backs have each registered at least one 100-yard effort.
Through 14 games, Texas’ offense is averaging 445.4 yards per game, 33.6 points per game and 6.2 yards per play. UT is averaging 164.4 yards on the ground per game and 4.5 yards per carry with 21 rushing scores. The Longhorns are averaging 281 yards through the air each game and have scored on 34 passing touchdowns.
By rushing for 240 yards against Texas A&M on Nov. 30, the Texas offense has now rushed for 100-or-more yards in 11 of 14 games this season. It was the fourth time this season (and the third time in the last four games) the Longhorns have surpassed 200-or-more rushing yards after also doing so against ULM, Florida and Arkansas. Banks has paved the way for several standout drives recently, including the second drive of the game against Texas A&M, which went for 10 plays and 93 yards and resulted in a touchdown that provided a 7-0 lead, which was a lead the team would not surrender in the game and helped the Horns clinch an SEC Championship game berth as a first-year league member.
Against Kentucky, the Banks and the offensive line cleared the path for an epic 15-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that lasted 8:22 and consisted entirely of rushes. The drive started at 11:32 and ended at 3:10 to extend the lead to 31-14. At Arkansas, Texas was able to run out the last 6:55 of the game, earning four first downs in the process, to prevent the Razorbacks from having another possession and secure the win.
Behind Banks’ protection, junior QB Quinn Ewers Ewers has completed 233-of-352 passes (66.2 percent) for 2,665 yards and 25 touchdowns while averaging 242.27 yards per contest in 11 starts. A finalist for the Manning Award, Ewers sits 17th in the FBS in passing touchdowns (17), 23rd in completion percentage (66.2 percent), completions per game (21.18) and points responsible for per game (14.4). 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. The Southlake, Texas, product ranks third and fourth in the program's record book in passing touchdowns (61) and passing yards (8,321).
