Korey Banks will be in a Lions uniform until at least the end of the 2013 season. Photo: BCLions.com
The BC Lions announced Wednesday the signing of defensive back Korey Banks. The extension is a two year deal which will see the popular veteran remain with the Lions until at least the end of the 2013 season. Banks was entering the option year of his contract and was not set to become a free agent, but locking him for another year is another key core signing for the team this off-season.
Banks enjoyed another all-star season with the Lions, the fourth such honour of his career. Banks will begin his ninth season in the CFL in 2012, all but two of those have been with the BC Lions after being selected in the 2006 dispersal draft of the folded Ottawa Renegades.
Reporters and media members will be happy with today’s news as Banks is known to never shy away from a microphone and provides them with great material for their newspapers and sound bites.
Here are Banks career starts, as found on BCLions.com, where you can find the official release of today’s news.
Stats via BCLions.com
The BC Lions football club announced Tuesday that they have extended the contract of defensive back Korey Banks thru the 2012 season. The extension added one year to Banks’ current deal.
The veteran member of the Lions secondary appeared in all 18 regular season games in 2010 as well as the West Semi-Final and shared the team lead in sacks (7) playing at the nickleback position. He added a team-highs in tackles for a loss (4), pass knockdowns (10), forced fumbles (3) and fumble returns (4) and he was credited with 55 defensive tackles. Banks earned himself a team nomination as Outstanding Defensive player and a West Division All-Star selection.
Today I had the pleasure of helping award the Dante Marsh canvas print that Dante provided for us to raffle off for CFL Fans Fight Cancer.
The lucky winner was Heather Swift of Abbotsford, BC. who purchased her ticket a tailgate party earlier this season. Heather ventured out to the BC Lions practice facility today to receive her prize from Dante himself.
After the cost of the print, we were able to raise $300.00 for CFLFFC. Each year a group of CFL Fans across Canada attempt to raise money for various Cancer charities on our local communities. This past off-season, Lions DB Korey Banks lost his young son to cancer and he’s in the process of establishing the Hope24 Foundation in his honour and to help those fighting childhood cancer.
Today, the BC chapter of CFLFFC, thanks to the help of CFL fans like you, were pleased to donate the $300.00 raised through this raffle to Banks’ new foundation in memory of his son.
Thanks to Dante Marsh and to CFL fans for their support and congratulations to Heather!
We here at BCLionsDen.ca would like express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of Lions defensive back Korey Banks. The team announced that Banks’ son, three-year-old Khamari Banks succumbed to the disease Monday night in Atlanta after being diagnosed last year.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Banks family in this difficult time.
(Regina, SK) The BC Lions were in a generous mood Friday night, and handed the Saskatchewan Roughriders a 28-24 victory at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field on Friday.
Buck Pierce fumbled four times and threw two interceptions under constant pressure from a Rider defense that was seemingly having it’s way with BC’s new look offensive line, which often seemed confused with picking up the blitz giving Pierce little time to look down field allowing 9 sacks. Walter Stith showed that he is a work in progress replacing Rob Murphy, while Dean Valli also had a tough game at times. These deficiencies will need to be addressed or Buck Pierce will end up on the injured list in no time.
The Lions picked up key injuries as well, the most concerning being to running back/kick returner Ian Smart. Smart pulled up lame on a carry and looked to have popped a groin the way his body language was suggesting. Promising newcomer Emmanuel Arceneaux, who had a TD catch on the night, left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. The Lions got big scare came when Omar Morgan rolled up on the leg of Geroy Simon, bending the star receiver’s leg in a way it shouldn’t bend. Simon laid on the turf grabbing his leg but walked off under his own weight and thankfully returned to finish the game.
The loss of Smart left the return game in shambles and Darren Toney looked lost filling in for the CFL’s former special teams player of the year.
On a promising note the Lions defense looked pretty decent at times. Ryan Phillips picked off two Darian Durant passes and took one back for a touchdown, and the front four got decent pressure most of the night, registering three sacks and would have had a bunch more had Durant not been so agile and thrown the ball away on other occasions. Javier Glatt had a strong game for the Lions at linebacker, and Korey Banks looks as though there will be some exciting moments coming from him at his new nickleback position.
The Riders didn’t do themselves a lot of favours trying to win the game. They added turnovers of their own, and almost gave the Lions the win in the dying moments when Ryan Grice-Mullen was wide open deep but dropped the ball. Durant went 18-32 for 313 yards, 0 TD’s and 3 interceptions. 154 of those yards were to star Weston Dressler who served notice to the league he is quickly becoming the premier receiver in the CFL.
Footnotes:
- The Lions have lost out on the Jamall Johnson sweepstakes as the former Lions linebacker signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Sad that an NFL tryout costs the Lions a good player, who may have had a bigger role here had he not left. The Lions apparently exchanged contract numbers with Reggie Hunt while in Regina, and will now explore the possibility of adding him or JoJuan Armour.
- With the injury to Ian Smart the rumored signing of RB Tyler Ebell could be finalized this week, or perhaps junior star Andrew Harris will dress. Martell Mallet had some promising carries, and looks to be a similar type of runner as Joe Smith.
- Former Lion Jason Clermont finished the night with 1 catch for 9 yards, while former Rider Anton McKenzie registered 6 tackles, 1 sack and a forced fumble.
- If Emmanuel Arceneaux can’t go Friday, we’ll likely see the other promising receiver in camp, Terence Scott get his chance to shine.
- Lowell Ullrich has more in a nice video blog he composed after the game in Regina. You can view it here.
