2012 Football Roster
Roster
Johnthan Banks
- Position:
- DB
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 185
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Maben, MS
- High School/Previous School:
- East Webster HS
- Career & Game-By-Game Statistics
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.
HIGH SCHOOL: Considered the No. 63 “athlete” prospect in the country by national recruiting website Rivals.com . . . That site also regarded him as the No. 23 prospect in the state of Mississippi . . . Rated the No. 69 safety prospect in the country by national recruiting website Scout.com following his senior season . . . Credited with running a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash by national recruiting website ESPN.com . . . Named second-team, all-state in all classifications at linebacker by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger following his senior season . . . Rated with the top 40 high school prospects in the state of Mississippi by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger following his senior season . . . Accounted for 1,740 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns while playing quarterback for Head Coach Jimmy Carden at East Webster High School in Maben, Miss. . . . Also starred on the defensive side of the ball, making 35 tackles and seven pass interceptions during his senior season . . . As a junior, he rushed for 16 touchdowns as a running back and recorded two pass interceptions in the defensive secondary . . . Once returned three punts for touchdowns in a single game for the Wolverines . . . Played for his high school varsity team since the eighth grade . . . Led his prep baseball team to state championships in Class 1-A during his freshman and junior campaigns . . . Also played basketball on the high school level . . . Committed to Mississippi State in April 2008.
PERSONAL: Born Johnthan Shuntay Banks on Oct. 3, 1989 . . . Grandson of Mrs. Maggie Banks.
BANKS’ CAREER HIGHS
Total Tackles – 9, (2x), last vs. Louisiana Tech (9-24-11)
Assisted Tackles – 4, (6x) last at Georgia (10-1-11)
Solo Tackles – 6, at Arkansas (11-19-11)
Interceptions – 2, (2x) last vs. Florida (10-24-09)
Interception Return Yards – 120, vs. Florida (10-24-09)
Long INT Return – 100, vs. Florida (10-24-09)
INT Return TD – 2, vs. Florida (10-24-09)
Pass Breakups – 2, (4x) last at UAB (10-8-11)
Tackles For Loss – 2.5, vs. Ole Miss (11-26-11)
Sacks – 1.0, (4x) last at Arkansas (11-19-11)
Forced Fumbles – 1 (4x), last vs. Ole Miss (11-26-11)
Punt Returns – 3, (2x) last vs. UT Martin (11-5-11)
Punt Return Yards – 64, vs. UT Martin (11-5-11)
Longest Punt Return – 65, vs. UT Martin (11-5-11)
Punt Return Touchdowns – 1, vs. UT Martin (11-5-11)
