Can transfer Sevyn Banks fill LSU football's No. 1 need after injuries wrecked his 2021 season?
BATON ROUGE — When Robert Steeples first watched Sevyn Banks play, one thing stood out.
He was impressed by his versatility: the way the Ohio State cornerback could defend the slot on the inside while also covering bigger receivers toward the boundary. Steeples, a former cornerback who played in the NFL for three seasons, knew that wasn't easy.
"Usually what a coach is looking for for a guy to play inside and out is the mental capacity to do it," Steeples told The Advertiser. "(You need) the versatility to get involved in the run game and recover, and also the athleticism to guard a tight end and also take on a block with them ... but also keep up with a true slot receiver that's usually often quicker and faster."
Steeples, at the time, wasn't even working in college football, spending 2016-20 as the coach at De Smet High School in St. Louis before becoming an assistant special teams coach with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. But he kept an eye on the college game, watching for the next great corps of defensive backs.
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That research has paid off for Steeples — now the cornerbacks coach at LSU — after Banks left Columbus for Baton Rouge as a graduate transfer this spring.
"I think he's a complete corner. He's a guy who can get in your face and press you up. But also in (Ohio State's) system, they were also comfortable with playing him in space as well as playing off, too," Steeples said.
At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Banks was a two-year starter at Ohio State, starting in eight games and recording eight pass breakups as a junior. He was a third-team preseason All-American in 2021 and made the Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch lists.
But he arrives at LSU after dealing with injuries. A knee injury hampered him during the preseason and made him miss the first two games in 2021. He sat out the final three contests because of a hip injury.
Given the state of LSU's depth chart at cornerback, keeping Banks healthy will be important. Coach Brian Kelly is confident that will be the case.
"We got a positive medical report from our doctors," Kelly told reporters in April.
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How Banks arrived at LSU football
The idea of adding Banks from the portal is credited to LSU recruiting specialist Sherman Wilson.
He passed the idea through Steeples and Kelly, letting them decide whether Banks could be a fit on and off the field. Kelly spoke with Kerry Coombs, the defensive backs coach at Cincinnati under Kelly and Banks' coach as Ohio State's defensive coordinator.
As Steeples explains, LSU this offseason needed veteran players who could fill a need on the field — with cornerback at the top of the list — and help develop the kind of culture Kelly and the staff wanted for the future.
From his perspective, Banks checked off all of those boxes.
"I bumped into former teammates of his (who) were training for the NFL (and) asked them about him," Steeples said. "One guy, the first thing he says is that he's a freak athlete, he's a really good athlete. Somebody else said that he was really motivated."
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How Banks is fitting in at LSU football
Banks didn't arrive in time to participate in spring practices, but Steeples has built a relationship with him through positional meetings and check-ups in the weight room during summer workouts.
"We've put it all on the table and I think we know what to expect from each other so it's been a very positive relationship," Steeples said. "In the meeting room, he's very engaged. And you can tell that when guys ask good questions. That lets you know their mind is in the right place."
As a graduate transfer, this will be Banks' only season at LSU. It's a position Steeples is familiar with. During his college playing career, he went to Memphis as a graduate transfer after spending three seasons at Missouri.
It's why Steeples has been impressed with what he's seen from Banks. The former Buckeye could have viewed his time at LSU as a pit stop before chasing his dreams in the NFL, but that hasn't been the case.
"What you got from talking to Sevyn was even though there's an NFL opportunity on the other side of this, he's really immersed himself in the relationship piece and being a part of the team," Steeples said. "He's not treating this as much as a business trip as he is like 'I also want to leave my impact on LSU.' "
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football: Can Ohio State transfer Sevyn Banks fill Tigers top need?
