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With ten days until the official kickoff of the 2018 football season, we here at FWtCT thought you’d like to know who we consider to be the greatest of the greats. Each day, we will release an article chronicling the next player in our list. We hope you enjoy our first one.
By far one of the greatest cornerbacks to ever wear the Maroon and White uniform, Johnthan is a no brainer to make the list. He is a Jim Thorpe Award winner. He is an All-American. He is one of many Bulldog stars in the NFL. For a long time, he was one of the most revered men in the SEC.
Not bad for a kid from East Webster High School in Maben, Mississippi.
Banks is a true campus legend. Unfortunately, the time in which he played was during the rebuild Dan Mullen brought to Starkvegas. That’s why he is ranked so low on this list. Now please don’t misunderstand me. The things he did in the big games deserve to be recognized beyond measure. But it has to be noted that he was not a superstar due to playing with a still (until his senior season) mediocre Bulldogs team. It wasn’t until his senior year that he really broke through on the national stage and helped establish MSU as a team to be reckoned with. He unfortunately won’t ever be given the credit he deserves. You can argue that most of his success came against the so called “cupcake” opponents. But as I stated previously, he was never one to crumble under the spotlight. He will always be remembered as the guy who picked off Tim Tebow and took it to the house. If you’ve never seen that play, I highly suggest you go look it up on YouTube. It’s phenomenal.
Credit must be given where it’s due. Johnthan Banks is one of the greats. I consider him as one of the greatest players Dan Mullen ever brought to Starkville. I mean he can’t have been too shabby right? He was a nationally respected guy. That’s beside the point though. Banks is one of the top 10 greatest players in Mississippi State Football history.
Ever wonder if State ever had any great QBs before Dak Prescott? Well come back tomorrow to see #9 on this list. I think you’ll find my selection interesting. This guy had MAD skills.