WILLIAMSBURG — As the William & Mary Tribe get ready for the 2025 football season, WYDaily caught up with some of the team’s players ahead of Saturday afternoon’s kickoff.
Linebacker Luke Banbury joins the Tribe after transferring in from Cornell University.
In his time with Cornell from 2021-224, Banbury appeared in 30 games and totaled 141 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, and two interceptions — one being a pick six, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He was named first-team All-Ivy League in 2024, earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week twice and was named National Defensive Player of the Week once.
“When I entered the transfer portal after graduating from Cornell, I had two offers in the portal, which was from Robert Morris in Pittsburgh and William & Mary,” Banbury said.
After visiting the William & Mary campus and meeting with Coach Mike London in January, he signed on the dotted line.
“I showed up here in the beginning of July for summer training and everybody welcomed me like I’ve been here for four years. It’s been a lot of fun so far,” Banbury said.
Coming out of an Ivy League program, Banbury says the experience at William & Mary thus far has been different.
“It’s similar in some ways, as most practices are the same. It’s been different in the fact that we start a lot earlier here with practices. In the Ivy League, we start practice so much later for preseason camp that it was almost like we got like a week and a half before you were in your prep week for the first game. This experience feels like we have so much more time to prepare for our first game, which is a great feeling. I don’t feel like we’re rushing or that we have our backs against the wall,” Banbury said.
Ahead of the season opener, Banbury has already garnered preseason All-American honors.
“It’s a great honor to receive something like that, but it’s also in a way doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just a preseason guess, but if I let that make me complacent and I don’t work hard, I don’t study the playbook, and I have a bad year, I’m not going to get All-American honors at the end of the season. It’s an honor to have it, but it also means that I still have to put in the work, do all the things that need to be done, and have a little more pressure on me this season,” Banbury said.
As he gets ready for his first game in a Tribe uniform, Banbury eyes success.
“I want to win the CAA, have my best year yet as a linebacker personally, and to make some really meaningful connections here with the players and the coaches,” Banbury said.
Entering his fifth and final year of NCAA playing eligibility, Banbury has aspirations for the NFL, but is taking things moment by moment.
“When I was visiting, there were some guys that I met that were training for a combine that was being held here. They were telling me how Coach London has a lot of good connections with NFL coaches and scouts. If that were something that was on the board or a potential for me, I would 100% take any opportunity, but at the same time, I want to be realistic, and if it doesn’t feel like a real possibility, then maybe just wrap up my football career. However, I’m choosing to be positive and believe that I will have a really good year and the NFL will be on the table,” Banbury said.
For more on all things William & Mary football, visit tribeathletics.com.