WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— Former William & Mary All-America standouts
Jalen Jones and
Luke Banbury earned NFL rookie minicamp invites with the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens, respectively, on Tuesday.
The duo will look to join an impressive list of former Tribe standouts who are currently on NFL rosters – Charles Grant (Raiders), Nate Lynn (Titans), Bill Murray (Colts), Luke Rhodes (Colts), Colby Sorsdal (Lions) and Owen Wright (Buccaneers).
Honored as an All-American by five organizations last season – AP, AFCA, Stats Perform, FCS Football Central and Phil Steele – Jones was one of the nation's top cornerbacks and earned an invitation to the American Bowl.
A three-time first-team All-CAA selection and two-time Buck Buchanan Award Finalist, Jones ranked second in the CAA and 14th nationally with 1.09 passes defended per game in 2025. Additionally, the Chesapeake, Va., native ranked third in the CAA in interceptions (two) and PBU (10), while he finished the year with 39 tackles and 1.5 TFL en route to being chosen as the Defensive Back of the Year in Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond.
Honored as a first-team All-America selection by six organizations as a junior in 2024, Jones ranks second in school history with 51 passes defended, which includes eight interceptions. Jones' career stats also include 128 tackles, 4.5 TFL, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
The former CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year (2022) was also a finalist for the 2022 Jerry Rice Award, which recognized the nation's top FCS freshman.
Banbury, a finalist for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award and honored as an All-American by four organizations (AP, AFCA, Stats Perform and Phil Steele), made a tremendous impact during his lone campaign in Williamsburg after transferring from Cornell. In addition to ranking fourth nationally in tackles per game (11.4), he finished the season with 137 tackles – the most by a W&M player since 1988 (Kerry Gray, 143).
The Pittsburgh, Pa, native also totaled 2.0 sacks, 5.5 TFL, six PBU and a fumble recovery en route to garnering CAA Defensive Player of the Week accolades twice.
Banbury, who earned first-team All-Ivy distinction in 2024 and preseason All-America honors in 2025, finished his career with 278 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 13.5 TFL, two interceptions, 13 passes defended, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
