NOVEMBER 2009: Brandon Banks is not big, but his football talents are immense. Banks has done nothing to disappoint Kansas State fans. He leads the team in receiving yards. He leads receivers in rushing yards. He leads the Big 12 with all-purpose yards and ranks seventh in the nation. He tied the school record for all-purpose yards in a game with 351 in a loss against a stout Oklahoma defense, including a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He went past the 3,000-yard mark in his second season.

He was named to Phil Steele’s first-team all-Big 12 squad at t midway point of the season as a kick returner. He has four kickoff returns for touchdowns this season and five in his career, both school and Big 12 records. He’s also averaging 9.3 yards per punt return after nine games.

But his biggest play of the season may have been a touchdown reception late in the game against Iowa State. The Wildcats were not impressive against the Cyclones, but still were tied at 17-17 with 5:36 left in the game. Grant Gregory, making his first start for the Wildcats, scrambled away from pressure and hit Banks behind the secondary for a 54-yard touchdown.

Prior to his big game against Oklahoma, his biggest yardage game came against Tennessee Tech in the final non-conference game. Banks became the 12th player in NCAA history, including the first in the Big 12, to return two kickoff for touchdowns in the same game, as K-State rolled past the Golden Eagles, 49-7. Banks, whose 303 all-purpose yards ranks fifth in school history, broke a 7-7 tie with a 91-yard kick return late in the first quarter then opened the second half with a 92-yard return to give the Wildcats a 28-7 lead. Banks also had three receptions for 90 yards.

He was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the first time this season a Wildcat had earned weekly honors from the Big 12. It was the second time for Banks in his career.

Banks is 5-7, 150 pounds and that’s with a lot of change in his pocket. He has been clocked at 4.25 in the 40 and 10.22 in the 100. He’s very elusive, not too surprising because he’s hard to find among the larger players on the field. In fact, he’s the smallest player in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

But most important, Banks is very confident.“I feel good about our team and the position we’re in,” he said. “Hopefully I bring a lot of emotion. When we get down I want to be the guy that brings us back up. Teams tend to put their heads down when things go wrong. I want to bring excitement to the team. I’m a big-time play-maker. You always have to have confidence you can do well.”

That confidence spreads to his teammates. Gregory gives Banks a lot of the credit in the Wildcats’ resurgence.

“His confidence is contagious,” Gregory said. “A lot of times guys get down when they don’t get involved early, but he doesn’t do that. He just keeps playing. It really helps that he’s on special teams, because there are other ways to get him the ball. We need to get him the ball to let him be electric.”

The most amazing game was the trouncing K-State put on Texas A&M (62-14) one week after losing 66-14 at Texas Tech. One of the big plays was the second half kickoff. K-State had scored twice in the final 30 seconds to pull out to a 38-0 lead at the half. Banks put any thoughts of a second-half comeback out of the picture with a 97-yard return of the opening kickoff. It was his third kickoff return for a touchdown this season, setting the school and Big 12 record. The return was also the fourth of his career, which tied the conference record. It earned him conference Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time.

“All those teams know they could get to 4-4 and have a chance (to win the North),” Gregory said after the Colorado win. “KU, MU, Nebraska all think if they get to 5-3 they’ll be alright. If we play well we have a chance (to win the North).”

Banks has good statistics, but even when his stats don’t jump off the page, he can still be a game-changer. Against Colorado, he had just 80 yards of total offense. He caught three passes for 14 yards and ran once for 15 yards. He had one kick-off return for 41 yards and three punt returns for 10 yards. But his presence deep on the punt return caused CU punter Matt DiLallo to average only 37.4 yards per punt. Many times he punted out of bounds to keep it away from Banks.

“If he gets the ball in his hands he has the ability to make big plays because of his speed,” coach Bill Snyder said. “But it’s not all about Brandon. We have a bunch of guys back there (on the returns). If they do their job, he’s got a chance to utilize his skills. If they don’t do their jobs, he has no chance to do that.”

Said Gregory, “He puts fear in the defense, because they know (he’s fast). If he gets into the open field he can go the distance on any play. Every offense likes to have a guy like that. It affected their punts because they (the Buffaloes) were scared to kick it to him.” The remaining opponents all have scouts, so expect them to do whatever they can to stop Banks. But he will make big plays.

You can take that to the Banks.