The 51st Lombardi Award was presented at the Rotary Club of Houston on Wednesday night, with University of Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. taking home the hardware.
The Lombardi Award, named after legendary coach Vince Lombardi, recognizes college football’s best lineman “who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL’s legendary coach Vince Lombardi.”
In addition to Banks, finalists for the award included Will Campbell (OT, LSU), Abdul Carter (EDGE, Penn State) and Kyle Kennard (DL, South Carolina).
Banks becomes the fourth Texas Longhorn player to win the award and the first offensive lineman to wear burnt orange and win it (DT Tony Degrate – 1984, DT Kenneth Sims – 1981, DE Brian Orakpo – 2008).
Banks was named first-team All-SEC on offense earlier this week and is a 2024 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award finalist. He is the first Longhorn to win the prestigious SEC blocking award. The Humble, Texas native is a three-year starter for the Longhorns at left tackle and has played in 39 games in his career at Texas.
Thanks to Banks’ veteran leadership on the offensive line, UT’s offense is thriving. They rank 13th in the FBS for passing offense (281 yards per game), 15th in team passing efficiency (154.92), 16th in completion percentage (66.3%), 18th in total offense (445.4 yards per game), and 25th in scoring offense (33.6 points per game). The Texas offense has also been strong on the ground, rushing for over 100 yards in 10 out of 12 games, with three different Longhorn running backs each achieving at least one 100-yard game.
The Longhorns will host Clemson in Round One of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, December 21 at 3:00 pm at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
