Roy Banks always figured the ball could be coming his way when he heard the magic words.
“Blue 80!” Bluuuue 80!”
Sean Payton barked the words so frequently, Banks still sounds like he’s ready to rip off a big play as he recites the cadence 40 years later.
In the mid-1980s, Banks was a star receiver at Eastern Illinois. Payton, now the Broncos head coach, was his quarterback. Together, they put up prolific numbers at the Football Championship Subdivision (then Division I-AA) school.