Portal Scouting Notes | WR Jahmal Banks
Back when Notre Dame was about to face Wake Forest on their Senior Day, I mentioned WR Jahmal Banks as a potential transfer portal target for a few reasons.
Though he led Wake in receiving, he had an underwhelming season because of the terrible quarterback play. Their starter was maybe the worst in all of the Power 5 and it had an impact on their entire passing game. His numbers were down across the board and that wouldn’t help his cause as an NFL prospect.
His NFL Draft prospects and Wake Forest’s uncertain status on offense next season meant that Banks might have been open to looking at his options as a graduate transfer. Add that in with Notre Dame having a specific need at the boundary wide receiver position and Banks was an obvious fit if he elected to enter the transfer portal.
He just did so and even with the Irish adding a commitment from Beaux Collins, Banks is still an option worth exploring because of his size, ball skills, and ability to beat man coverage.
WR Jahmal Banks
- 6-4 205
- 0 drops on 88 targets in 2023, great ball skills
- 9 TDs in ‘22
- Does a nice job working over the middle in traffic
- Big body, not a threat after the catch
- Very few broken tackles, not going to make defenders miss
- 6 catches of 30+ yards in ‘22
- A bit stiff out of his breaks, but efficient route runner
- great on contested catches in ‘22, 15 of 23 5th among Power 5 WRs
- 6 for 141 with 2 TDs vs Clemson in ‘22
- Uses sizes and savvy to win vs man coverage
- 11th in Power 5 PFF grade vs man in ‘22, 6th in NFL QB rating
- 20th in Power 5 PFF grade vs man in ‘23
- 5th in the country in red zone touchdowns in ‘22
Banks has reliable hands and has the potential to be a go-to player on 3rd down and in the red zone. He understands how to use his body to box out smaller defensive backs and he can make great catches on balls that aren’t exactly accurate. He showed plenty of examples of that with some spectacular grabs.
I think adding him might actually be better for the wide receiver room as a whole too because it then means that Notre Dame wouldn’t be forced to rep Jaden Greathouse or Jayden Thomas to the boundary and they can flourish either in the slot or to the field instead. It also gives true freshman Micah Gilbert a chance to develop and learn from Collins and Banks while also not blocking someone like Cam Williams from potentially earning some playing time at the field spot.
The Irish would also go from small at the position to suddenly having two big bodies that they can throw out there who present match up issues for smaller corners. I think Banks would be significant pick up for the Irish.
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