Aaron Banks

Golden Nuggets

• Was given the nickname 'The Dancing Bear' by former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long due to his energy and playing style.
• As a sophomore at Notre Dame, hosted pizza night every Thursday night in his apartment to help the offensive line bond off the field. "We have those guys every week, it's our pizza night. But it's not always at our house. We move it around a little bit," Banks said. "Pizza night has been a thing among the O-Line for a long time, and it's a tradition."
• While attending El Cerrito (CA) HS, Banks, realizing that the school's weight room was limited, took it upon himself to find additional ways to train in a local gym. "Yeah, we didn't have a lot of weights," Banks said. "So myself and my little brother would go before school, at like 4:30 in the morning and go lift."

Golden Nuggets

• Was given the nickname 'The Dancing Bear' by former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long due to his energy and playing style.
• As a sophomore at Notre Dame, hosted pizza night every Thursday night in his apartment to help the offensive line bond off the field. "We have those guys every week, it's our pizza night. But it's not always at our house. We move it around a little bit," Banks said. "Pizza night has been a thing among the O-Line for a long time, and it's a tradition."
• While attending El Cerrito (CA) HS, Banks, realizing that the school's weight room was limited, took it upon himself to find additional ways to train in a local gym. "Yeah, we didn't have a lot of weights," Banks said. "So myself and my little brother would go before school, at like 4:30 in the morning and go lift."

Goldmine

• Originally from Hayward, Banks grew up less than an hour from Levi's Stadium. For Draft Day, Banks and his large family rented a house in Napa to wait for his name to be called. Learning his football path brought him right back to where it all started, the moment was not lost on him. "[It's] crazy how this journey brought me right back home," Banks said. The chorus of screams from his family upon hearing his name associated with the hometown team resonates with Banks and his excitement to return.
• At El Cerrito High School, Banks was a dual-sport athlete as a center on the baskteball team and an offensive and defensive lineman on the football team. The basketball team won the North Coast Section championship with Banks in the paint and he also helped El Cerrito to its first-ever NCS football championship in 2013.
• Banks has three dogs, two huskies and a pitbull mix. The dogs are named Waffles, Pancakes and Beans.

College

• Appeared in 38 games (31 starts) in 4 years (2017-20) at Notre Dame. As a senior in 2020, started all 12 games, including an appearance in the CFP Semifinal. Named First-Team AFCA All- America and Associated Press First-Team All-America as a senior. Started all 13 games as a junior in 2019 and helped the Irish rank 13th nationally in scoring offense. Played in all 13 games (6 starts) as a sophomore in 2018. Did not see game action as a freshman in 2017.