He did, and he’s been doing it most of the time since.

And he’s been doing it pretty well, too.

The way Banks looks at it, it was nice to be picked out to be a Little League quarterback, but that wasn’t the important thing.

"I just wanted to play football,’’ he explained. "I didn’t care if I played offensive guard.’’

But forget that offensive guard stuff.

Banks, a 6-foot 1-inch, 200-pound senior from Belle Glade, Fla., will be the starting quarterback Aug. 31 when Iowa opens its season against Akron at Kinnick Stadium.

It will be then that he steps into the pressure cooker. Playing quarterback at Iowa and most other NCAA Division I-A schools brings with it a heavy amount of expectation from coaches and fans.

Banks saw it first-hand last season. He was the backup to Kyle McCann, who then was the Hawkeyes’ quarterback starter. Banks heard the outcry in Kinnick Stadium. He heard people, who were dressed in black and gold, booing.

Maybe they were booing McCann. Maybe they were booing Coach Kirk Ferentz for using McCann instead of Banks against Michigan. Maybe they were booing both McCann and Ferentz.

Whatever, it was an ugly situation on an afternoon when the Hawkeyes narrowly missed upsetting the Wolverines.

"It was kind of tough for Kyle to put with stuff like that booing,’’ Banks said. "We were all Hawkeyes.’’

Because of the fans’ displeasure with McCann, Banks became a crowd favorite in 2001, and wound up his junior season with 41 pass completions in 68 attempts for 582 yards and four touchdowns. He ran 41 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

Banks indicated he won’t try to do anything differently to remain in good standing with the fans.

"I don’t even think about it,’’ he said. "I just want to play football. It’s a challenge, and I love challenges.’’

Even though he became the clear-cut starter in spring practice, Banks is the first to admit he’s often not recognized as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback when he’s walking around the campus.

"Not being noticed doesn’t matter to me,’’ he said.

He also said it doesn’t have any impact on him that he’s Iowa’s first black starting quarterback since Pete Gales, who lettered from 1978-1981.

As he patiently answered reporters’ questions on a hot afternoon at Iowa’s media day, he talked about how different it was from his days at Hinds.

"On press day there, it was one guy, one camera, one microphone, five questions,’’ he said with a smile.

In Iowa City, Banks was surrounded by 15 reporters, some armed with huge TV cameras, others trying to get a handle on the guy who will direct the Hawkeyes’ offense.

"I kind of like this attention,’’ he admitted.

Banks said the things you’d expect him to say. He said he had team goals, not personal goals. He said making it to the Rose Bowl is the main goal. He said the quarterback can only do so much on any team On the Benny Sapp situation, he said Ferentz made a decision to kick him off the team "and now we’ve got to move on.’’

All in all, Banks handled himself well. But the real answers will start coming three weeks from today. That’s the start of a 12-game regular season for Iowa.

As far as I’m concerned, Banks seems fully capable of directing the Hawkeyes to an 8-4 record and a second consecutive bowl game.

Cundiff, who signed a rookie free agent contact with the Cowboys, booted his field goal with 13:25 remaining in the game. He converted following the Cowboys’ first touchdown with 12:24 left in the second quarter.

Cundiff also had kickoffs of 69 yards to the Oakland 1-yard line in the second quarter and 62 yards to the Raiders’ 8.

The 6-1, 201-pound Cundiff, who was an all-American at Drake, is trying to win the starting job from third-year kicker Tim Seder. Cundiff booted a 62-yard field goal in college, the second-lost in NCAA Division I-AA history.

Cundiff impressed Dallas kicking coach Steve Hoffman when he was reviewing the many audition tapes he receives from kicking prospects.

"Of all the tapes I got, he jumped out at me more than anybody, even more than some of the guys that got invited to the combine,’’ Hoffman said. "Even more than some of the guys that got drafted.

"He just has to learn to keep the same rhythm when he’s behind the line with every kick. Some of the younger guys have a tendency to think that kicking it hard means more than kicking it straight, and the veteran kickers have learned to just chip it through. When he slows down on the ball and doesn’t try to kill it, he’s as good as anybody.’’