Ohio State cornerback Sevyn Banks joined a growing list of Buckeyes to earn preseason recognition for major college football awards Monday, as the senior made the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List.

The Thorpe Award, given to the nation's most outstanding defensive back, has been given out annually since 1986, with just two Buckeyes having won the award since its inception.

Ohio State's Antoine Winfield took home the honor in 1998, and 10 years later, Malcolm Jenkins won the Thorpe Award again for the Scarlet and Gray. Both players went on to be selected in the first round of the subsequent NFL Draft.

Banks himself has seen his name in several first-round projections this offseason, as surprising as that may be for a player that failed to make an All-Big Ten team after his first year as a starter in 2020, but the talent and physical tools are all there for the Florida native.

Banks intercepted a pass from Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to seal the Tigers' fate in this past season's Sugar Bowl, and in the season opener against Nebraska, he returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown.

With 2020 Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Shaun Wade off to the NFL, Banks will be a surefire starter on the outside of Matt Barnes' secondary in 2021.

Banks missed most of the spring with an undisclosed injury, but head coach Ryan Day said Friday at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis that he is expected to be healthy by the start of preseason camp, which begins Aug. 3.