Florida DT Caleb Banks sheds light on what happened at the NFL Scouting Combine, with interesting insight

Caleb Banks opens up about his injury at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks (88) speaks to the media during Pro Day at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun

The Florida Gators had their pro day on Thursday morning with multiple players looking to improve their draft stock. Jake Slaughter, George Gumbs Jr., J. Michael Sturdivant, and more were out there working out for scouts, coaches, and front office personnel.

Of all the players that worked out, the best one of the bunch didn’t: defensive tackle Caleb Banks. He suffered a foot injury at the NFL Scouting Combine and didn’t work out. He had surgery earlier this month, and will end up being cleared before training camp begins.

Caleb Banks highlights what happened when he got injured

The broken foot from Banks was a frustrating one, especially since he missed nine games with two other foot injuries. He spoke to the media on Thursday and talked about the injury.

“So it happened the night before. I was practicing my starts around, like, 11 o’clock, and it popped. I kept running, kept doing my starts, and then I’m just thinking this is, like, a muscle injury, you know what I mean? Something like that. Nothing too serious,” Banks recalled to 247 Sports.

“But then I went out there and ran the second 40[-yard dash], that’s when I started feeling it, like, real, real bad. Well, after the first 40, I started feeling real bad. Then I ran the second one, I ran a 5.1. So, yeah, I tried to do a drill, didn’t look good, didn’t want to put anything like that on film. So just sat down.”

At the time, it was described as “cleat discomfort.” He pulled himself out of the drills quickly after running a 5.10 40-yard dash, which is quite impressive at 6-6 and 327 pounds. The real question with Banks is whether or not he ends up falling the draft. The answer was simple.

“I mean, absolutely not. I don’t think that it undercuts my value. I don’t think that it did anything detrimental to my draft stock,” said Banks.


If Banks has his medicals check out, there is a good chance he gets selected in the first round, possibly in the top half of the NFL Draft.

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