Report: Tight ends coach Jeff Banks leaving Alabama football, following Steve Sarkisian to Texas

After three years as Alabama’s special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, Jeff Banks is leaving the Crimson Tide to join Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas.

UA is losing more than a position coach in Banks: he was UA’s ace recruiter in Texas, playing a big role in getting the state’s best offensive lineman (Tommy Brockermeyer), running back (Camar Wheaton), wide receiver (JoJo Earle) and quarterback (Jalen Milroe) in the 2021 class.

UA has yet to have a special teams coordinator with no other duties. When college football was granted a 10th on-field assistant beginning with the 2018 season, many schools moved special teams coordinator duties away from existing position coaches and hired new coaches to handle special teams exclusively: Joey Jones (Mississippi State), Scott Fountain (Georgia) and Greg McMahon (LSU) are three examples in the SEC alone.

UA did not, giving Banks both special teams and tight ends duties.

The Crimson Tide thrived in the return game under Banks, particularly in 2019 when Jaylen Waddle was unquestionably the best punt returner in the nation. Waddle’s injury in 2020 forced UA to scramble for other options, but ultimately settled on productive ones in Jahleel Billingsley on kickoffs and DeVonta Smith on punts.

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Reach Brett Hudson at 205-722-0196 or bhudson@tuscaloosanews.com or via Twitter, @Brett_Hudson