Zach Banner Bio
Zachery Samuel Banner (born December 25, 1993) is an American professional football offensive tackle who most recently played for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). Nicknamed “the Hulk” for his imposing frame, Banner built a reputation at the University of Southern California (USC) as a two-time All-American and first-team All-Pac-12 performer before launching an NFL career that included stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2017, he became the first Chamorro player ever selected in an NFL draft. Listed at 6 feet 8 inches and 335 pounds, he remains one of the largest linemen to have played the modern game.
Early Life and Background
Banner was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised primarily in Tacoma, where he grew up on the East Side and also spent time in Puyallup. His mother, Vanessa, is Chamorro, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, and was born in Fort Lewis, Washington, where she works as a middle school administrator. He is of Chamorro and African-American descent, and his maternal grandfather, Rafael “Ralph” Mendiola Sukola, was from Agana Heights and Dededo, Guam.
Banner’s biological father is former NFL Pro Bowl offensive tackle and College Football Hall of Famer Lincoln Kennedy, who had dated his mother but never married her. Banner was raised by Ron Banner, the superintendent of the Clover Park School District in Lakewood, who married his mother when Zach was eight and adopted him the following year. He has a younger brother, Xavier, who played linebacker football at Eastern Washington University, and a sister, Mia, a high school soccer goalie.
Banner’s physical growth was remarkable from an early age. He was already 5 feet tall in second grade, 6 feet 4 inches in seventh grade, and stood 6 feet 7 inches and over 300 pounds by his first year of high school. At Lakes High School in Lakewood, he played two seasons at left tackle for the Lancers, was twice named a football All-American, and earned the nickname “The Diesel” alongside “Big Daddy.” He also starred as a basketball center, averaging 18.6 points and 17.3 rebounds while guiding Lakes to the 2011 Washington State Class 3A championship.
Path to American Football
Banner arrived at USC in 2012 and red-shirted the season before appearing in just two games as a true freshman in 2013, when a congenital condition called femoroacetabular impingement in both hips required two surgeries and ended his year. After playing every game at right tackle as a sophomore, he broke out as a junior in 2015, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors, the USC Offensive Lineman of the Year award, and a top pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing only nine pressures on 426 attempts.
As a senior captain in 2016, Banner repeated as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, added first-team All-American recognition from CollegeSportsMadness.com, and was a Senior CLASS Award finalist. At 6 feet 9 inches and 385 pounds, he was the largest player in college football, yet was still light enough on his feet to attract the attention of NFL scouts. His 2017 Senior Bowl appearance capped a college résumé that also included a USC community service award and induction into the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
Zach Banner Career
Early Career (2017)
The Indianapolis Colts selected Banner in the fourth round, 137th overall, of the 2017 NFL draft, using a pick acquired from the New England Patriots in the Dwayne Allen trade. He made the Colts’ 53-man roster out of training camp but was waived one day later on September 3, 2017, when other teams trimmed their rosters. Less than 24 hours later, on September 4, the Cleveland Browns claimed him off waivers, and he went on to play in Cleveland’s final eight games of the season, logging 27 offensive snaps and 18 special-teams snaps before being released on March 15, 2018.
The Carolina Panthers claimed Banner off waivers on March 16, 2018, but waived him on May 31 of the same year, signaling a transitional phase in his young career. Across his first two NFL seasons, he appeared in 10 games without a start, all while moving between three organizations in roughly 12 months.
Pittsburgh Steelers Breakthrough (2018–2022)
Banner signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 12, 2018, and the union produced the defining chapter of his career. He made his Steelers debut on September 15, 2018, against the Seattle Seahawks, and earned his first NFL start on November 24 against the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2019, he played 14 games with one start, taking 22 percent of offensive snaps, and recorded 24 pass-protection reps without allowing a single pressure, sack, hurry, or hit on his quarterback.
Banner became a cult hero in Pittsburgh, partly because he was often announced as “No. 72 is reporting as eligible” at home games, a phrase that drew louder cheers each week. He re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year, $1.75 million contract in March 2020 and opened that season as the starting right tackle before suffering a torn ACL in Week 1 that sent him to season-ending injured reserve. After signing a two-year deal in March 2021 and another injured-reserve stint, he was released on March 16, 2022.
Houston Roughnecks Era (2025)
On March 6, 2025, Banner signed with the Houston Roughnecks of the spring United Football League, returning to organized football more than two years after his Steelers release. The move paired one of the league’s most recognizable personalities with a Houston franchise that had been rebranded as the Gamblers, giving Banner a fresh platform to extend his career.
Notable Events and Milestones
Banner’s most celebrated milestones are tied to identity and community. He became the first Chamorro player selected in an NFL draft in 2017, the same year he founded the B3Foundation to support students in Guam, Tacoma, and Los Angeles. He also gained national attention in 2020 for posting an emotional video responding to an anti-Semitic social media post by a fellow NFL player, an act that earned widespread praise, raised more than $60,000 for his foundation, and led to invitations to Shabbat dinners and visits to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Zach Banner Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Banner’s football pedigree runs through his biological father, Lincoln Kennedy, a former Pro Bowl offensive tackle and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Raised by his adoptive father, Ron Banner, the longtime superintendent of the Clover Park School District in Lakewood, Zach grew up in a household rooted in education and athletics, supported by his mother, Vanessa, a middle school administrator of Chamorro and African-American heritage. His brother, Xavier Banner, played linebacker at Eastern Washington University, continuing the family’s football tradition.
Personal Life
Banner is married to Alexandra Banner, the lead writer for CNN’s daily morning newsletter, 5 Things. He proposed to her on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in December 2021, during his second stint with the Steelers. Outside of football, he has remained active in philanthropy through the B3Foundation, which supports Black and Brown youth in Tacoma, Los Angeles, and Guam. Banner also majored in Sociology at USC, where he was a member of the historically Jewish fraternity Zeta Beta Tau.
2025 Season Performance
Banner’s 2025 season began with his March 6 signing by the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League, marking his return to competitive football after a two-year absence. Operating as a veteran offensive tackle on a spring league roster, he brought starting-level experience and the kind of locker-room leadership he was known for in Pittsburgh.
The 2025 UFL campaign served as a redemption arc for Banner, allowing him to log meaningful snaps at right or left tackle after consecutive injured-reserve stints had derailed his late Steelers years. His presence gave the Houston offensive line one of its most experienced bookends and a player familiar with AFC North-caliber competition from Pittsburgh.
Heading into the rest of the 2025 schedule, Banner’s storyline centers on durability and continued production, with eyes on whether the former fourth-round pick can extend his career beyond the spring league. Given his track record of community impact and his historic 2017 draft selection, his on-field play in 2025 carried symbolic weight for Chamorro representation in professional football.