Brad Banks

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Brad Banks (b. April 22, 1980 in Belle Glade, Florida) is an American gridiron football player, currently playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Banks was the quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team in 2002. That season, he completed 170 of 294 passes (57.8%) for 2573 yards with 26 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, finishing first in quarterback rating in Division I-A; he ran 82 times for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns. Banks was named AP Player of the Year and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player of the Big Ten. He led the Hawkeyes to an 11-2 record and a tie for the Big Ten crown with Ohio State. Had Iowa not lost to Iowa State for the Cy-Hawk Trophy they would have been undefeated in regular season and may have been selected to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the BCS championship. Nonetheless, they earned a BCS bid to the Orange Bowl and lost to USC 38-17. They finished the season number eight in the AP Poll.

Although his accomplishments in college were excellent, Banks was not drafted by an NFL team. He did sign with the Washington Redskins, but was released shortly afterwards. He signed with the Ottawa Renegades of the CFL in 2005, and in 2006 was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Renegades' dispersal draft.