Notre Dame Guard Aaron Banks Declares For NFL Draft
Another member of Notre Dame’s veteran offensive line is turning pro.
Senior left guard Aaron Banks, a first-team All-American, announced on social media Sunday night he has declared for the NFL Draft and will bypass a fifth season at Notre Dame.
Banks started all 12 games for Notre Dame this season and 31 in his career, all on the interior line. In his final season, he allowed zero sacks and was credited with just 10 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, both the fewest among the starters. He allowed only nine pressures and two sacks in 2019.
“Though we could not bring a National Championship back to Notre Dame during my time here, I am proud of what we accomplished these last four years and am ready to pursue my lifelong dream of playing in the NFL,” Banks wrote in an Instagram post.
The 6-5, 330-pound Banks moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore in October 2018, replacing an injured Alex Bars, and never left. The No. 121 recruit in the 2017 class out of El Cerrito (Calif.) High School committed to the Irish in December 2016 and enrolled for the spring semester. He chose Notre Dame over California, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee and UCLA.
Banks joins left tackle Liam Eichenberg and right tackle Robert Hainsey as pro declarations along the offensive line. Right guard Tommy Kraemer's departure would leave rising senior center Jarrett Patterson as the lone returning starter on the offensive line. A move outside for Patterson, a high school offensive tackle, is an offseason possibility.
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