OKLAHOMA CITY – Junior safety Yam Banks has been selected to his second national preseason award as he was named to the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as announced by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) and Jim Thorpe Association on Thursday.

The Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List includes 35 of the nation's best defensive backs based on performance on the field, athletic ability and character. The group comes from 10 conferences and one independent program. 

Banks was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Award last week, which recognizes the top defensive player in the country. 

Banks, who was named First-Team All-Sun Belt as a defensive back at the end of last season, was also an honorable mention All-America selection by Phil Steele, second team by PFF and third team by CFN in 2022. He finished the season with a team-high six interceptions, including one against Western Kentucky at the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl to conclude the season. 

Banks was credited with 50 total tackles, including 35 solo stops, with six tackles for loss and one sack, and finished the year with 11 pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery.

The Ridgeland, Miss., native earned preseason first-team all-league honors last month and has also been selected first-team all-Sun Belt by three different publications this summer.

The Paycom Jim Thorpe preseason watch list is selected by a screening committee whose members compile a list of up to 50 players based on previous performance in NCAA Division I college football and preseason All-America lists. Other players are added to the semifinalists and finalists lists as the season progresses.

A 15-player semifinalists list is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 with the three finalists named on Tuesday, November, 28, 2023. The three finalists will then be submitted to a national panel of over 250 sports writers, sportscasters, former players and coaches who vote to determine the winner of the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, which will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards in December.

The winner will be honored at a banquet hosted in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Tuesday, February 6, 2024

ABOUT THE PAYCOM JIM THORPE AWARD
The Paycom Jim Thorpe Award is awarded to the best defensive back in college football based on performance on the field, athletic ability and character. The award was established in 1986 and is named after history's greatest all-around athlete, Jim Thorpe. Thorpe excelled as a running back, passer and kicker on the offensive side of the ball, but also stood out as a defensive back. In addition to his legendary performance on the football field, Thorpe played professional baseball and won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon. The Paycom Jim Thorpe Award is universally accepted as one of the nation's top collegiate sports honors.

ABOUT PAYCOM SOFTWARE, INC
Paycom Software, Inc. ("Paycom") (NYSE: PAYC), a leading provider of comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management software, and the Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame jointly announced in May 2017 an exclusive sponsorship of the Jim Thorpe Award. As a result, the accolade has been named the "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award."

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