Pitt Football Spring Practices: E.J. Banks At Quarterback A Curious Move

Wanted to get to this a bit earlier, but Pitt mentioned some position players in their spring prospectus last week. Many are kind of nondescript, but one stuck out at me.

And not in a good way.

E.J. Banks, a cornerback transfer from Notre Dame, is moving to quarterback. Looking in with my limited view from the outside, this is one move I really don't get - especially in lieu of all of the players at that position right now. Tino Sunseri is moving on after this season, but incoming freshman Chad Voytik is generally regarded as the quarterback of the future. There's also Mark Myers, Anthony Gonzalez, and Trey Anderson, who will be around in 2013 and beyond.

Why waste an athletic talent such as Banks at a position where he may rarely see any action at all? Even if Banks progresses to the point where he beats out those latter three guys, is it really worth it to make him your backup quarterback ... especially when the secondary could use some help?

Banks came to Pitt last year if you don't remember.

He was a three-star recruit as rated by Rivals and Scout and reportedly had some big time programs after him including Notre Dame (who he eventually signed with), Florida State, Tennessee, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech, according to Rivals. He was a two-way player in high school, so playing defense was nothing new to him.

It'd be foolish to claim that Banks can't play quarterback, but I question an athlete of Banks' caliber likely sitting on the bench. Even as a backup cornerback or safety, he could see significantly more time than as the backup quarterback. He could come in for special packages, but I'm still not sure I'm enthusiastic about the move.

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