When Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks was selected with the 24th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft by the New York Giants, excitement flowed over the team’s war room.
Coaches, executives, and scouts all celebrated the pick with hugs, high-fives, and fist bumps. They were getting a much-coveted player at a much-needed position, and a very special player at that.
On Friday, on Day 1 of Giants rookie minicamp, Banks met the media (again) and we learned a few new things about him.
Banks said he feels “no pressure” as a first-round pick. In fact, he feels he would have been here a year earlier has he not gotten injured his junior year.
“But everything worked out in my favor I feel like. I graduated too, so it was good,” he told reporters.
Banks has a degree in Family Science which he describes as “just working with kids, being a teacher or being a trainer, or a coach.”
“I like seeing the smiles on young kids’ faces,” he said.
On the coaching staff: “I like it. I like the coaches, I like how they coach me. It’s real smooth. It’s real good.”
Banks was assigned jersey No. 36 but seemed to imply that might not stick.
“It’s alright. It’s just what I have right now. That’s what I’m working with right now. That’s cool,” Banks said. “I didn’t pick it, no. They just gave it to me.”
While the jersey number may not be to Banks’ liking, Wink Martindale’s style of defense certainly is.
“They play a lot of man, so if you know me, you know how I play man…it’s just a mentality thing. I just love doing it,” he said.
Banks never backs down from a challenge, so working in man fits him like a glove.
“Never…that’s just me. That’s who I am,” Banks said, adding that he does talk some trash but that might have to wait in the NFL. “I’ve got to get in there first. I’ve got to make my mark first.”
Banks was asked who he wants to meet when the rookies and veterans mesh together going forward.
“Everybody, just everybody. Just being with everybody. I just want to be with everybody,” he said.
And by the way, the way Banks handles himself on and off the field, everyone will probably want to be with him, too.
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