Joshua Banks '24 Recruiting Profile

When did I fall in love with football? I fell in love with football at an early age. After my first game, at four years old, in 95° degree Georgia heat, I was told that I looked up at my dad and said, “It was hot, and I was tired, but I didn’t give up!” At six, I began to develop a real passion for the game.  Throughout my Mighty Mite season, we struggled and couldn’t win a game until the last game of the season. On the last play of the game, on the second yard line, on a quarterback keeper, two of us in the backfield started to push the QB, and everyone on offense joined in until he made it into the end zone and we won the game! Everyone went crazy and it was then that I knew I was in love with football. Since then, I’ve played every year and almost every position on the field, loving every minute of it. And yes, I’ve been blessed to be an elite three-sport athlete; football, basketball, and track, but my true love and all roads end on the 50-yard line.  

Over the years, football has continued to teach me valuable lessons. When a coach told me that I would not play football at the next level, he stirred something up in me.  That moment motivated me to adopt a new motto, “Grind, Pray, Faith”. I was relentless in my training, doing everything possible to improve my athletic performance while praying and believing that my efforts would be evident on the field. It worked! I am a commanding defensive leader who is coachable with an above average football IQ. I was dubbed, “Ball Hawk” with great instincts by Dream All-American because of my ability to read the offense and break to the ball quickly. I am a solid tackler, fluid in space, and deadly in the box. 

I was told that athletes can’t be smart. However, because of my motto, “Grind, Pray, Faith”, I currently hold a cumulative GPA of 3.68 and a semester GPA of 4.36. I am a member of the National Society of High School Scholars and the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists.  I will also become an official inductee for the National Honor Society and Beta Club by the end of the 2022/2023 school year. I fully intend to complete my high school career with a 4.0 GPA.  I have also made it a priority to volunteer in my community by serving in local food banks and in Sunday School at my church and I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa in February 2023 to assist in mission opportunities with a focus on ministry to the children.

Ultimately, I want to attend a college that will be a good fit for me academically as well as athletically since I intend to pursue a degree in medicine. I not only have the discipline and talent to compete at the collegiate level, but the work ethic and leadership skills to make an immediate impact to any program.