The football recruiting process can get crazy and it went full circle with Zachary Evans from North Shore high school in Houston, Texas.
Evans, the #1 running back recruit in the 2020 class, originally signed a national letter of intent with Georgia back in December and quickly backed out of that decision. Georgia released him with no penalty.
Everyone thought he would announce where he would go at the Under Armour All-American game in January and that didn’t happen. He never signed with anyone at the late signing period in February. Since then, the entire country has been awaiting his decision.
Final Decision
Earlier today, it was announced that Evans enrolled into TCU, a team that hasn’t really been in the mix since last month. He signed a financial aid agreement with them. The Horned Frogs will get a huge boost and their first-ever 5-star prospect. Evans is expected to contribute early in the fall.
— Zach Evans (@Runzekerun01) May 11, 2020
A few of the colleges that were in the running but missed out were Alabama, Texas A&M, Texas, Ole Miss, Florida, LSU, and Oklahoma.
In December, Evans was suspended for the 6A Division 1 State Championship game against Duncanville. He has had some ups and downs but his decision to stay closer to home may be the best thing for him as he enters college. Fort Worth is a little less than 4 hours from his home in Houston.
Immediate Opportunity
Regardless of a few hiccups in high school, Evans is an elite player that will be a difference maker for TCU. The Horned Frogs will be without their top two runnings backs from 2019. Darius Anderson (843 yards) and Sewo Olonilua (568 yards). Both were picked up as free agents with the Dallas Cowboys. With Anderson and Olonilua in the NFL, Evans will have a chance to compete for the starting job and definitely be a key player in the running game either way.
Career Stats
Over the course of his high school career, Evans has 3 straight years of 1,400 rushing yards or more. He has averaged 9.88 yards per carry and 77 career touchdowns.
| YEAR | ATT | Yards | AVG. | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 127 | 1,600 | 12.6 | 20 |
| 2018 | 134 | 1,489 | 11.11 | 27 |
| 2017 | 180 | 1,461 | 8.12 | 26 |
| 2016 | 7 | 54 | 7.71 | 1 |
Evaluation
Evans is a very patient runner with good lateral quickness. He has an uncanny ability to get out of bad situations. A long strider that will run by you and can kick it into another gear. Great balance. Lowers the shoulder and fights for yards after contact. He is an underrated weapon as a receiver out of the backfield.
In conclusion, critics can put out timelines and question where he decided to go. The reality is TCU has the opportunity for him to make an immediate impact and contribute right away. He took longer to finalize everything, but it was right for him and it is closer to home.
We expect Evans to help TCU take that next leap forward up the rankings and look for more elite prospects to follow him to Fort Worth.
