When Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell introduced first-round pick Caleb Banks last Friday, he also took the time to introduce his new player’s family and there were a lot of them — his mom Mary, his brothers Trayvon and Jalen and his girlfriend Monique.
“It’s not only just about our players,” O’Connell noted, “but it’s about their support systems and their families feeling a part of the organization that our great ownership lets us get to be a part of every single day.”
Well, apparently the Vikings are also welcoming of their players’ pets and that is important when it comes to Banks, because at some point he’s moving to the Twin Cities with his two pythons.
And his Cane Corso.
And a chameleon.
And some birds.
And maybe a tarantula he wants to add to the menagerie.
Bring ’em all, the Vikings encouraged Banks when they selected him in the first round last Thursday.
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“You ready to go?” Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores asked Banks on the phone. “Let’s get the dog, let’s get the snakes, let’s get the chameleon. Let’s get everybody packed up. Bring them all.
“I know you’re going to bring your best, too, so … We’re excited to get you here.”
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Banks, who multiple NFL evaluators have referred to as a “beast” because of his physical prowess, shared his affinity for animals when he met with the Vikings at the NFL combine.
That was interesting to them. One must think the fact Banks is 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, capable of a 32-inch vertical leap coupled with tremendous power on the interior defensive line, was of greater interest to the team.
But the openness to the pets apparently made Banks feel more comfortable with the Vikings.
“… It meant a lot to me because for you to say that on the phone,” Banks said of the Flores conversation, “it shows how deep you care and you actually listen. I was excited. You know, he told me to bring my animals. I’m like, ok, I’m going to bring my animals in.
“Let’s do it. Let’s do it!”
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If you haven’t gotten the drift by now, yes, Banks is a bit different. Just ask him.
“I’m different,” he confirmed. “I got a crazy personality. I’m very goofy. I don’t know if y’all can tell. I can just make a joke out of anything. I’m a great person. I love my animals. I got four of them. I’m probably going to have more.
“I used to skateboard. I do a lot of crazy things you probably wouldn’t think somebody with 330 pounds and 6’6 would do, you know what I mean? So, I’m different, man. I’m a jack of all trades. You never know what you might get out of me.”
So how did that personality translate to having an eclectic taste for exotic animals?
“It’s a long story, man,” Banks said. “When I was younger, somebody said, ‘I like a koala bear.’ Just making jokes. I didn’t know what it was. This girl was like, ‘Koala bears are cute.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, snap, all right, let me look into it.’ Started learning about koala bears a little bit, learning where they were from.
“Then I fell in love with animals, and then when I had to go to college, they said, you got to pick something, like pick a major. I’m like, ‘A major? Like, what’s that?’ So it’s like something you like to do. What do you like to do? And I’m like, ‘I love animals.’
Banks entertained the idea of studying zoology. And then he realized he’d better major in football first.
“I didn’t have the time,” he said. “It was a lot of work going to the zoo and being with animals, and you got football practice, and you got to be there. So that was hard.”
Banks says his pets will move with him “in due time.” And he might add to his collection.
“Probably some more snakes, a tarantula,” he said. “I want some frogs. Probably another dog. I don’t know, you never know what might happen. I’m going to surprise myself, honestly. I’m going to bring one to the facility, coach.”
That would truly test how welcoming of Banks’ pets the Vikings truly are.
