Arkansas landed one of its top remaining recruiting targets on Wednesday when Iowa Western Community College offensive lineman Noah Banks pledged to the Razorbacks.
Banks (6-7, 300 pounds), a mid-term graduate playing on the nation’s No. 3 JUCO team, chose Arkansas over Missouri, Iowa State and Middle Tennessee. Banks had drawn interest from Oklahoma, TCU, Auburn, Mississippi State, Nebraska and others.
He officially visited Fayetteville in September and is expected to graduate in December. He will have two years to play two at Arkansas.
“Very happy to say I have committed to the University of Arkansas,” Banks wrote on Twitter. “It’s been a long journey through high school and never thought I’d see myself headed to the SEC. Thank you to all thereat people I have been able to meet along the way."
Banks is Arkansas' 12th commit of the 2018 recruiting class with 14 spots now accounted for when two blueshirts are counted. The smallish class is expected to have 15 to 18 players.
Banks committed to Troy out of high school, but ended at Murray State, where he started nine of 10 games as a redshirt freshman before transferring to Iowa Western.
Iowa Western offensive line coach Donnie Woods, who also coached former Arkansas offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola, is high on Banks.
“He’s been great for us,” Woods said. “He transferred from Murray State because he thought he could play at a higher level. He is big, he is athletic, he is smart, he is tough, he has all the intangibles that you want in an offensive lineman and he works at it.
“He takes his God-given talent and his size and he goes to work every day. When a kid like that who is big as he is and works as hard as he does, you've got yourself a pretty good offensively lineman.”
He said Banks has several qualities like Tretola.
“When Tretola stepped on our campus and played a few games, you could just tell he was a different animal from most,” Woods said. “Those are the guys that you see play extremely well in the SEC. We have confidence that Noah can do the same thing.”
Iowa Western is 9-1 heading into this weekend’s regular season finale at the College of Dupree.