The Banham’s!
Blake Banham, a 5-10, 190-pound running back from St. Paul (MN) Cretin Derham Hall, figures to be one of the state’s top rushers this upcoming season.
Banham helped lead the Raiders to a 6-3 mark last season. He comes from an athletic family with plenty of Minnesota Gopher ties. His sister, Rachel, was a first team All-Big Ten selection for the women’s basketball team. His brother, Cole, shined in the spring game as a running back.
Gopher Hole caught up with Banham to learn the more about his recruitment and playing at the same school as his older siblings.
Gopher Hole: What camps did you get a chance to go to this summer?
Blake Banham: I made it to Northwestern, Michigan State. I went to the U of M and Iowa State. I went to the North Dakota Junior Day.
Gopher Hole: How did you think that you performed at the various camps?
Blake Banham: I think that overall, I did pretty well at all the camps that I performed in. I had a lot of fun and I think that I performed pretty well.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from the most right now?
Blake Banham: I am hearing a lot from, obviously, the U, but I also hear a lot from Michigan State and Northwestern, one of my top schools that I am hearing a lot from and I am hearing good things from.
Gopher Hole: Do you have any scholarship offers right now?
Blake Banham: I do not at this moment, but from what I am hearing I might be getting some pretty soon. .
Gopher Hole: Who might that be from?
Blake Banham: Northwestern and North Dakota.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about trying to visit some campuses before school starts or would you wait to take some official visits after school begins?
Blake Banham: I have been thinking about maybe after school starts, I was thinking about visiting a couple of schools. It all depends on which schools are most interested in me and different stuff like that and what schools I can see myself going to. I would not be opposed to go and visit some schools.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Blake Banham: I am hearing good things. They said that they really like the way that I play. They want to watch me this season and see what I can do and go from there. A lot of good things. They like the way that I play and what I do there and different stuff.
Gopher Hole: You are going to have a bigger role at Cretin Derham Hall with James Onwaalu (who signed with Notre Dame) gone. Is that something that you are looking forward to?
Blake Banham: Yes. With James gone, it opens up a lot things for me on offense. Obviously, my role is going to be a little bit different. Without my teammates, I wouldn’t be able to do anything on my own. It gives me a bigger role, but without the team aspect, I wouldn’t be able to do anything on my own.
Gopher Hole: You had a good season last year team-wise, but not the typical Cretin season. Has that been a motivating factor for this upcoming season?
Blake Banham: Yes, definitely. That has been a big emphasis throughout the summer, workouts and practices. A big emphasis on improving on last year, because for Cretin Derham Hall football, our expectations every year is to be on the road to the state tournament and in the Dome. To fall short last year was very disappointing to us, so the big emphasis this summer was just working hard and getting back to what we do.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to play at Minnesota with your brother and sister both there?
Blake Banham: I think that would be fun to be playing together on a team that has my brother to relate to and talk to. To help learn the team and the offense. That would mean a lot and having my sister there, again just another moral support person there to help me add to the college life and life at Minnesota. I think that it would mean a lot to be there with them.
Gopher Hole: Your brother was one of the standouts of the spring game. What is he saying about his role with the team? Have you talked to him much about that?
Blake Banham: I have talked to him a little bit. As you know, he is a walk-on. He has been performing well and he said that the coaches have been taking note of that. He is obviously a very skilled athletic player. I am not 100% sure of how much that he is going to get used, but they are saying good things about him, so I guess that it is just a matter of how they see him fitting in, He has been performing well and hopefully, he’ll be able to get some playing time and perform on the field as well.
Gopher Hole: Would you be interested in a walk-on situation in Minnesota or are you looking to be a scholarship player someplace?
Blake Banham: I am looking more at a scholarship. I believe that with my abilities that I should be able to earn a scholarship somewhere, whether it is at the U or somewhere else. I am looking more to a scholarship opportunity.
Gopher Hole: Are you planning on sending out some tape or videos to some schools after your first couple of games?
Blake Banham: Yes. That is what I was going to enter after the first couple of games. A lot of coaches want to look at your film and they will make their final decisions. That is what I will be doing after the first couple of games and send out a lot of my film.
Gopher Hole: What schools will you be sending that out to?
Blake Banham: Mainly the Big Ten schools, Minnesota, Northwestern and Michigan State, Iowa State, Missouri and North Dakota.
What things are you working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Blake Banham: Just becoming more of a complete and balanced player. I think that I have a good combination of speed, power, agility and all those things, but it is just fine-tuning them and becoming great at all of them and not just good at all of them. Just really fine-tuning my game in a sense.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a running back?
Blake Banham: Like I said, I think that my biggest attribute is that I am well-rounded as running back. I am not just a power running back that is just going to run North and South. I am not a scat back that is going to bounce around. I can do both. I just need to make a move on somebody. I can do that and beat them to the corner and also, if I need to, I can lay my shoulder into a defender. I think the ability to be balanced and fundamentally sound is the reason for my success.
Gopher Hole: Who is the better running back? You or Cole?
Blake Banham: That is a good question. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see this year to see who performs a little bit better. He is a great athlete and a great running back, so I guess it remains to be seen.
Gopher Hole: What is it like with your sister? She is one of the best players in the country and is very popular. What is it like having her as part of your family?
Blake Banham: It is great, because she has had a lot of success and she is really doing her thing. It is great to see her perform the way she does and have that type of success. It is good to know. Growing up, I was always with her and watched her, just like me and my brother. She plays all the time and it is good to see her success and her hard work paying off. She is just another role model that I can look after, knowing that she is my sister. If I do the things that she has been doing, hopefully one day it will pay off. Watching her success has been wonderful.