Anthony Lamar Banks (born April 5, 1973) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for 10 seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...
. Selected by the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
in the second round of the
1996 NFL draft
The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...
, Banks also was a member of the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
, and
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
. With the Ravens, he was part of the team that won the franchise's first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
title in
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
.
Early life
Banks attended
Hoover High School in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, and was a letterman in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
.
College career
Banks played
right field
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...
for the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
'
Class A team in
Ft. Myers, Florida, before enrolling at
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Community College District and the California Community Colleges system. The college is accredited by the Accrediting ...
in San Diego. He played there two years before transferring to
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
.
Banks places among the all-time record holders at Michigan State. He ranks sixth in passing completion percentage, tenth in career passing yards, and tenth in passing touchdowns. Banks was the first quarterback selected in the
1996 NFL draft
The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...
.
In the October 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated, former NFL agent Josh Luchs claimed he paid Banks 'several hundred dollars a month' while Banks was at Michigan State, a violation of NCAA eligibility rules.
College statistics
Professional career
St. Louis Rams
Banks was selected in the second round of the
1996 NFL draft
The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...
by the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
as the first quarterback selected in that year's draft. He soon found himself the
starter as a rookie. Banks recorded significant yardage and touchdowns but also ended up setting a record for fumbles that first season, with 21. The team finished with a 6–10 record. Throughout the next two seasons Banks's play failed to improve significantly as the Rams finished last in their division with records of 5–11 and 4–12. During his time in St. Louis he developed a reputation for having a cocky attitude and a poor work ethic.
After a 14–0 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 of 1998 he skipped the team flight back to St. Louis and did not appear at practice the next day.
After three seasons with the Rams, the team signed
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers. He was selected by the San ...
and then traded Banks to the Ravens for a fifth and seventh round draft pick.
Baltimore Ravens
Banks accumulated the best statistics of his career with the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
. The Ravens started
Scott Mitchell and
Stoney Case early in 1999, but neither worked out, so the team turned to Banks. In 1999, he threw a career-high 17 TDs next to only eight interceptions. He also mustered 2,136 passing yards. Banks played well in early 2000, but his fumbles and interceptions cost the team two games in October. Feeling the offense needed a spark after failing to score a touchdown over an entire month, the team replaced him with backup
Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the UAB Blazers football team. Dilfer previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He achieved ...
, who would remain the starter through the team's
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
win. He finished 2000 with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions and was released in the off-season.
Dallas Cowboys
Leading into the
2001 season, Banks was signed by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
to replace the recently released and later retired
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he play ...
; however, on August 15, 2001, Banks was abruptly released by the Cowboys who chose instead to go with rookie
Quincy Carter.
Washington Redskins
Later that year, Banks signed with
the Washington Redskins during
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...
's one-year tenure as head coach. While with the Redskins, he became the first quarterback to follow an 0–5 start with five straight wins. He was released after the season.
Houston Texans
Banks signed with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
. He was the second-string quarterback for the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
behind
David Carr. He claims that he was asked by Houston's coaches not to play too well in practice to ensure that he would not upstage David Carr, who the team had drafted first overall in the
2002 NFL draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...
.
During his four-year tenure with the team, Banks received minimal playing time. On February 28, 2006, Banks was released by the Texans. He never returned to the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Coaching career
On March 9, 2020, Greenhill School, a private k-12 school in
Addison, Texas
Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census population was 16,661. Addison is immediately north of Dallas.
Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipalities labeled "towns" with a popul ...
, announced that they were hiring Banks as their head football coach. He had previously served the school as an assistant coach.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Tony
1973 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Baltimore Ravens players
Dallas Cowboys players
Michigan State Spartans football players
St. Louis Rams players
Houston Texans players
San Diego Mesa Olympians football players
Washington Redskins players
Players of American football from San Diego
21st-century African-American sportsmen
21st-century American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen