If you haven’t heard about Brian Banks story, he was wrongly convicted of rape and spent five years in prison. He was recruited by USC and Pete Carroll but all of that was halted by the false rape conviction. After being exonerated Banks tried out for the Seahawks last season and eventually played in the UFL for the Las Vegas Locos. Yesterday Banks was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.
While this has all the makings of a hollywood movie (a documentary is in the works) Falcons GM says this is no charity case:
“This isn’t a charity case. This is a great feel good story, but it’s also one we believe he has a chance to come in here and compete,” Dimitroff said Thursday on “NFL AM”.
So what does Banks offer? Dimitroff says the combination of Banks’ obvious drive and overlooked physical skills.
“Combine all his character and all of his drive, work ethic, along with all the training he’s been doing lately,” Dimitroff said before talking about Banks’ on-field prowess. “Think about this. This isn’t just a guy that’s just slopping around. This guy is 6-footb-2, 250 pounds. Runs (the 40-yard dash) in the low 4.8s (seconds). Can get better with that? His functional movement skills were very good. We like how he’s developed.”
It’s not guaranteed that Banks will make the team. But at least he is now given the chance that was taken from him five years ago.
Banks posted him signing his contract on instagram.
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