Former USC recruit, exonerated convict, to tryout for Redskins

By Kellie Cowan

 

Former USC recruit Brian Banks is expected to tryout with the Redskins, according to ESPN.  

Banks, a middle linebacker at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, had his football career cut short in 2002 when he plead no contest to a schoolmate's false accusation of rape at the age of 17.  Banks spent his next five years in a jail cell.

Last week Banks was completely exonerated of his rape and kidnapping conviction after a ten-year nightmare when his accuser admitting to lying about a charge she made at sixteen years of age.

While fighting his case in 2003 --a battle that cost his mother both her condo and her car-- Banks worked toward completing his high school degree.  Despite his grim circumstances, Banks never gave up on himself and his future while in prison.  He took college courses.  He remained athletic.  He focused on life beyond bars.  

"Those first few months were the hardest for me," Banks said in an ESPNLA interview.  "There were times where I just wanted to give up and give in to the life and environment of prison but it was at that time that I realized: I'm in here for something I didn't do.  I'm not even supposed to be here.

"With that in mind I vowed to myself to focus on the betterment of me, regardless of the environment.  I wanted to focus on my attitude and outlook of what I wanted to be regardless of what people thought of me or labeled me to be.  I just focused on bettering myself and moving forward ... it's gotten me to where I am today: a free man with a good heart and strong mind."

Banks has been working vigorously with personal trainers since October in the hopes of achieving a dream he was forced to shelve for a decade.  

"I live by the saying, 'Good things come to those who hustle while they wait,'" explained Banks. "There is nothing in this world that I feel is too difficult for me, or too hard for me to accomplish because the hardest thing for me to do was to become free --and I accomplished that." said Banks. "Everything else is sky's the limit."

With Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, London Fletcher, Lorenzo Alexander and recent additions Keenan Robinson and Jonathan Goff, the Redskins will probably just be looking to add some inexpensive padding to their depth charts at the linebacker position, which could be a great scenario for both the Redskins and Banks.

"I'm confident in what I've done so far," said Banks.  "I know that if given the opportunity to show my talents any team would be impressed with what I can do, despite all the things that I've been through these last ten years."

Banks is also expected to workout with the Seahawks, Chiefs and Dolphins.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy