On Tuesday, the Texas football program sent its coordinators out to meet with the media.
Unless an appearance in front of a microphone is mandated by a bowl game, UT head coach Steve Sarkisian does not allow his assistants to participate in press conferences during the season. Texas, though, usually does make its coordinators available at the beginning of fall camp each year. So with football practices set to begin at Texas on Wednesday, offensive coordinator Kyle Flood, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and special teams coordinator Jeff Banks spoke on Tuesday.
Here are three things that stood out about Banks’ press conference:
Who is in line to return kicks this season?
Last year, Texas averaged 15.88 yards per punt return and 20.52 yards per kickoff return. That ranked 11th and 53rd nationally.
But UT’s primary returner on punts last season was Xavier Worthy. He’s now with the Kansas City Chiefs. The primary returner for Texas on kickoffs was Keilan Robinson. He’s now a Jacksonville Jaguar. So who is up next for Texas?
“I have confidence in what I’ve seen on tape. With (Silas) Bolden and (Matthew) 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 certainly why we recruited them,” Banks said. “Jaydon Blue, Isaiah Bond, another transfer, Johntay Cook, DeAndre Moore, I think those are other players that will be in the mix. I don’t know that I’ve had that deep of a group, right? Obviously we’ve had some really good returners the last couple of years, I don’t know if we’ve had that deep of a group.”
Last season at Houston, Golden returned two of his nine kickoffs for touchdowns. Bolden averaged 23.06 yards per kickoff return at Oregon State in 2023 and he also scored on a 65-yard punt return.
Banks breaks down the Texas tight ends
In addition to being the special teams coordinator, Banks also coaches the tight ends at Texas. The position group returns a significant contributor in senior Gunnar Helm, but Ja’Tavion Sanders was drafted by Carolina this spring. Banks said on Tuesday that he is “fired up” for Helm, Alabama transfer Amari Niblack and senior Juan Davis.
“They’ve had great summers. I mean, nobody knows who Juan Davis is very much because he’s been a core special teams player, backup. He’s played phenomenal the spring, he’s a dynamic player in the passing game. He’s a lot more physical in the run game than you would think by looking at his (6-foot-4, 235-pound) body type. He will knock the crap out of you coming through the A-gap on counter plays.
“Amari’s done a nice job. A really good transition, he’s matured nicely. 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.
“I think those three guys are all independently different, which is cool. Different than JT. Gunnar’s shown more of a leadership role this spring, which I love. He certainly improved as a blocker last year and got even better this spring. I’m expecting great things from him.”
Banks also referred to freshman Jordan Washington as “a rising star.” Washington was a four-star recruit out of Houston during the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Banks expects the SEC to be a challenge for Texas
Texas may be a newcomer to the Southeastern Conference but Banks isn’t. On the résumé for Banks are coaching gigs with Alabama (2018-20) and Texas A&M (2013-17).
On Tuesday, Banks shared what UT should expect in the conference it officially joined on July 1: “It’s a very difficult conference to coach and play in. It’s the best of the best. It does just mean more. The line of scrimmage is different on both sides. It’s bigger, it’s more physical. Your mistakes as a coach and a player that are made get obviously exposed a lot quicker and a lot bigger. One of the tougher challenges I’ve had in my career is coaching in this conference and it’ll be another great challenge for us to come in with a team that’s been in the Big 12 and now going there, but it’s an awesome opportunity for all of us to dig in and do more.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football assistant coach Jeff Banks holds annual media session
