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July 30, 2024 15 mins
Texas Longhorns special teams coordinator Jeff Banks visited with the media today and was asked about players and positions he's excited for as Texas heads into fall camp on Wednesday. 
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Getting ready for the start of workouts, which pick up tomorrow,
so it starts tomorrow with the practices. Jeff Panks is
log Warren's associate head coach and works with the tight
ends and the special teams coach as well, so he
was asked about both areas for that. One of those
was right now, if he were to identify or be

(00:23):
asked to identify who might have an edge going into
the fall camp workouts in terms of returners, kick returners,
by returners, the return game, who might have the edge
in that area or at least be some of the
leading candidates.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, I mean, I have confidence in what I've seen
on tape with Bolden and Golden. You have two very
proven returners at the places they were at. That doesn't
necessarily mean I know what they're going to do here.
It just gives me a preemptive version of it. And
they've certainly been good at where they were and that's

(01:00):
certainly why we recruited Jayden Blue. You know, Isaiah Bond again,
another transfer, John Tay Cook, DeAndre Moore. I think those
are other players that will.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Be in the mix, and.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
I don't know that I've had that deep of a
group right. But obviously we've had some really good returns
the last couple of years. I just don't know if
we have that deep of a group. So we're going
to see how that all sorts itself out. And hey,
look at the end of the day, we're gonna have
to block people. And so those dudes are good and
they're good enough to make plays, I think athletically. I
just got to kind of see how they fit. And
then I got to figure out we have to figure out.
It's a staff, like, what's the best way to call

(01:37):
what for? Who you know? Is what's Silas?

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Who is he?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Is he a field returner? Is he a boundary returner?
Is a middle returner? And once we kind of get that,
then we can kind of kind of call the plays
to his strengths and hopefully by games three and four
we get into the conference, we got a feel for
what he does.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Great. Yeah, just to refresh, you remember the guy he's
talking about, Silas Bolden. He is a senior transfer from
Oregon State, originally from Rancho Cucamonga, California, but he transferred
this summer. This is a guy who is a two

(02:13):
time second team All Pack twelve selection. As a return
specialist both in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three.
He played thirty seven games, fourteen starts in four seasons
with the Beavers, caught eighty passes. He's a wide receiver
by trade. Caught eighty passes for over one thousand yards

(02:33):
and nine touchdowns, ran it twenty one times for two
hundred and two yards and four scores. Also returned forty
kickoffs averaging twenty five yards per return. Had a long
return of eighty, returning three punts for total ninety seven
yards and one touchdown with a long of sixty five.
So he had eight total touchdowns as a junior. So

(02:54):
he's a weapon in the return game. A wide receiver
by trade is Silas. But you also hear't even talk
about Matthew Golden. We saw him last year playing for
Houston against Texas and what a danger he is. So
there are options that he has in the return game.
As we mentioned, Jeff Banks of course handles special teams

(03:15):
and also the tight ends, and he was asked about
this tight end room because it's a fair question. Jatavian
Sanders moved on to the NFL, so j T Sanders
is gone. Gunner Helm was a quality guy a season ago.
Also the other guy that's really at least catching the

(03:37):
eye and the attention because Sark mentioned him to me
when we visited during SEC media days up in Dallas.
But another guy who has really caught their attention is
Jan Davis, who has been a guy who has been
in the program for over three years. All in all,

(03:59):
says coach Banks, the tight end room is looking better
and better, at least in terms of his total depth
going into the fall camp workouts.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, fired up about all three of those guys. So
they've had great summers. I mean, nobody knows who Wan
Davison this very much because he's been a core special
team player backup. He's played phenomenal this spring. He's a
dynamic player in the passing game. He's a lot more
physical in a run game than you would think by
looking at his body type. He will knock the crap
out of you coming through the a gap on counterplays.

(04:30):
And I'm already's done a nice job, a really good transition.
He's matured nicely. I mean he is a little bit
more mature because he's not a freshman transfer, but he's
matured nicely with the team, just relationship wise, I think
just in the building trust wise, he's gained our trust.
So I think those three guys are all independently different,
which is cool, different than than JT. Gunner showed more

(04:54):
of a leadership role this spring, which I love. He's
certainly improved as a blocker last year and got even
better this spring, so I'm expecting great things from him.
We're excited about all three guys, and obviously Jordan Washington
is a rising star, so we'll see. You know, hey,
if it's a longer season and that means more injuries,
possibly it means more depth. Our depth is going to

(05:15):
get tested. Jordan Washington's going to play a role.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, when he said all three, he was including of course,
I'm aari Ny Black, the Alabama transfer, and he'll be
a junior coming in and we saw Ny Black play
for Alabama. He went on to say, and we'll bring
you the comment from him about I I Black and
specific tomorrow. But some of the stuff that he talked

(05:39):
about was the fact that Ny Black was a guy
who coming off injury. They wanted to make sure they
took it slow with him in the spring and not
to go too fast because they didn't want him to
take a step back. They really wanted him to be,

(06:00):
you know, on track to get ready for the coming
fall campaign. So as a result of that, they took
it easy with him. But they really like what they
have in Amari Nyblack as well. And then as I mentioned,
of course he's talking about the special teams. You heard
him mention it earlier, the contributions of the former Westlake

(06:24):
Chaparral Michael Taff, And he was asked what makes Taff
so special? Why is he? This is the guy who
originally came in, was a walk on, earned his scholarship
and has been a mainstay in the secondary. So clearly
Pete wick Kowski was going to talk about him and

(06:44):
did as a guy who helps quarterback that secondary. But
when it comes to special teams, Jeff Bank says Taff's
pretty special there as well.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Yeah, Hey, look he's a high football IQ, high work ethic,
high care factor. In my opinion, without him saying it
or exuding it, he kind of has a chip on
his shoulder, you know, but he doesn't really act like that,
very humble kid, but yet plays with a chip on
his shoulder and with a motor and anytime you're smart,

(07:17):
you practice hard, you play hard, good things happen, and
that's what happens to the kid. I mean, just things
just keep happening good around him. He makes a lot
of plays that a lot of people probably would have
counted him out for making, and obviously that makes for
a great, best team player. So I love Taff.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, Michael Taff is kind of like a coach's favorite
in the teammate's favorite and all those kinds of things.
He's big. You heard him mention Gunner Helm and what
he's done. The kid from Colorado will be a senior
this year. There's one other name out of that tight
end position. I wanted to make sure mention. He mentioned
Jordan Washington, who's a freshman coming in from Langham Creek

(07:52):
good Sides at six four and two fifty. He's the
guy that he thinks might be able to make a
difference as well coming in. So some more thought. It's
there from Jeff Banks, the special teams coach and the
tight ends coach as well. So just something else to
keep in mind. All right. So we're heading down the
stretch of the Major League Baseball trade deadline because we're

(08:17):
just I wan to be thirty four minutes, thirty four
minutes to the actual deadline itself, and teams are continuing
to make moves, and I mentioned the Padres apparently going
to get Tanner Scott and right handed pitcher Brian Oeing,
and the Marlins will get left hander Robbie Snelling, right

(08:39):
hander Adam Major, also infielder Graham Pauli and infielder Jabis Shears.
So the Padres are really trying to go all in
to get a deal about this. The Twins picking up
right handed Trevor Richards from the Blue Jays, it's pretty
clear now JT. Shaguagging from the Marlins to the Mariners

(09:04):
as well, and the Mets are trying to get Paul
Blackburn from the A's. So that's all of those are
going down. And what is clearly coming down here is
the difference between those who are interested and we thought
it would get this way, those who are buyers and

(09:27):
those who are sellers, the ones who are coming to
the conclusion that they're not going to be players for
the postseason, that they're not going to be in for
the postseason, and so they're going they're unloading, And we
knew it was going to be like that with teams
like the White Sox and the Marlins, and they are basically,

(09:52):
you know, they've they've got a fire sale going on.
They are really unloading the rosters. But in terms of
other teams, those borderlines teams and the Rangers could be
counted on. Counted in is one of those borderline teams.
But as it looks like they're in as a buyer,
I'm a seller making the deal that they maybe get
chafened this afternoon the Mets. I just mentioned the Mets

(10:15):
making a deal. They're trying to make sure that they're
in there as possible because really, if you looked at
it today, and this is something that I've talked about
at length with regard to Major League Baseball, because you
have the wildcard races, what you're having is races for
the wildcard more so even than the postseason. That make
a difference. For example, in the American League, if the

(10:38):
season were to end the day wildcard teams, the three
division leaders would be the Orioles, the Guardians, and it
would also be the Astros on a tie break on
percentage points of the Mariners. That's important because right now
the Mariners would not be in the postseason. If this
happened because of the tight race in the wildcard here's

(11:00):
when I'm in by that the Yankees would be in
the wildcard. They are the wildcard leader. The Twins and
the Royals would be the other teams. But Boston is
only one game behind Kansas City for that third wildcard spot.
Seattle's two and a half back. Even Tampa Bay is
three and that back. The Rangers ironically are closer to
the division lead than they are in the wildcard. They

(11:23):
really almost aren't in the wildcard race right now. I
mean they're not completely out. There's six games back, but
the problem is they have won two to three for it,
six teams in front of them, so that would be
more of a problem for them than trying to catch
the Astros and Mariners in the division race, where Texas
is only three and a half back. That's why they're

(11:44):
a buyer, That's why they're making the deals. We knowne.
The Guardians have made the deal, and the Twins certainly
are right in the thick of things and would be
in the playoffs as a wildcard team if the season
ended today. They would like to see if they could
catch the Guardians as would the Royals, but the Twins
are six back, the Royals are seven back, so the

(12:04):
odds against catching the Guardians not good. The Orioles are
only a half game up on the Yankees, so that's
something that could go down to the wire, but in
all probability a two team race because Boston six back
Tampa Bay and a half back not likely to make
noise in the division, possibly for the wildcard, except the
race have been unloading things, so they're falling into the
cellar category. Philadelphia is eight and a half up on Atlanta.

(12:28):
The Braves not likely to catch the Fills, but if
the regular season ended the day, Atlanta would be in
the postseason. They're the wildcard leader right now, and the
Mets would be in and the Podres would be in
and looky, looky, here come the Diamondbacks. They're only a
half game out of that third wildcard spot, trailing San Diego.

(12:49):
That's why Arizona and San Diego have been so active.
And then beyond that, the Cardinals and Pirates are only
two back, so the Pirates are actually two games above
five hundred like the Cardinals and two out of the
final wildcard spot in the Western Pirates won that game
last night from the Astros, so Pittsburgh is still in it.

(13:11):
San Francisco trying to be a player and made a
deal that it is interesting to them trading Solaire back
to Atlanta, but they are only four games out in
the division. In the wildcard race, the Red's only five
out right now. Chicago is six back at that point
and fading at that point in the Cubs have unloaded
some things, but in the in the division standings, the

(13:34):
Giants not likely to jump three teams to try to
catch the Dodgers along the way, or three teams including
the Dodgers. They're ten and a half back in the
division race. San Diego is certainly still on to think
of the fight there. They're six and a half back
of La Saint Louis and Pittsburgh are both seven back
in Milwaukee in the Central and the Braves eight and
a half back, as I mentioned of Philadelphian East with

(13:55):
the Mets nine backs. So the best hope for Atlanta
and the Mets is to make it as a wildcard.
So that's that's why these deals have been made by
teams like Atlanta and the Mets, and even the Rangers
trying to stay there. And also the Pirates just finished
up a deal to get former Ranger Isaiah Kiner Fileffa

(14:15):
from the Blue Jays. So the Pirates are trying to
add a little more here. That's why I said. They
feel they still have a shot to be a wildcard team.
And you know, for a franchise like Pittsburgh that has
had it struggles, their fan base, you know, has to
appreciate that they've got a ball club that's been competitive.
They have one of the great young arms in baseball

(14:36):
right now in Paul Skeens. So for them to make
the deal that they made, they also brought back one
of their all time fan favorites, Andrew McCutcheon this year
and he's back with the ball club. He's really kind
of in a role position for them. But they are
making some moves to try to show that they are
seriously making a push at the very least to be

(14:57):
a wildcard contender for the Sason. All Right, we'll have
more coming up when we continue on Sports Radio AM
thirteen hunder the Zone and the iHeartRadio app
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