According to a report, the Vols could be in line for a huge visitor in the 2020 class this upcoming weekend.
Per Matt Ray of VR2, our recruiting partners here at RTI, five-star running back Zachary Evans is currently planning to take an official visit to Knoxville this weekend. The No. 1 running back in the 2020 class has had an interesting recruitment thus far, to say the least.
Evans signed with Georgia but then asked to be released from his National Letter of Intent. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound back has become a hot commodity on the market ever since reopening his recruitment, as Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Florida, and even Georgia are all in the mix for the talented back.
Right now, Tennessee seems to have beaten out Florida State for an official visit this upcoming weekend, but things could still change. But per VR2’s sources — which are close to Evans himself — the five-star back is leaning heavily towards coming to Knoxville rather than Tallahassee.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Evans is the No. 11 overall prospect and the No. 1 running back in the 2020 class. He’s also the No. 1 prospect in the state of Texas by those rankings.
Evans played for North Shore in Houston, Texas and put together another strong season as a senior, totaling 1,600 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on only 127 carries, averaging an astounding 12.6 yards per carry. He was named the MaxPreps National Junior of the Year in 2018 when he totaled 1,785 rushing yards and 29 scores. That followed a sophomore campaign where Evans ran for 1,483 yards and 27 touchdowns. As a senior, MaxPreps named him to the Second Team Offense for their All-American teams.
At a regional camp for Nike’s The Opening back in March of 2019, Evans ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash and posted a 3.84-second shuttle time. He also boasted a 37.2-inch vertical leap.
Evans has been to Knoxville before, but it’s been nearly a full year since his last trip. Evans took an unofficial trip to UT’s campus back on January 27, 2019, but that’s the only time he’s been on Tennessee’s campus. Earlier this week, UT sent ace recruiter Brian Niedermeyer to visit Evans, and it appears he and the rest of Tennessee’s coaches have convinced Evans to visit.
On the field, Evans is one of the top talents in the country. But Evans has faced multiple issues off the field and was suspended multiple times as a senior.
During the All-American Game earlier this month, Evans issued a public apology for his actions that got him suspended for North Shore’s Class 6A Division I state title game. Evans was sent home due to a violation of team rules that reportedly involved cell phone usage.
“I want to apologize to my college coaches and apologize for the things that they are hearing,” Evans said on ESPN2. “I’m really a good kid.”
“It was stupid. It was an immature decision. I was being selfish to my teammates, and I’m ready to come in and show them I’m ready.”
Evans took a visit to Ole Miss this past weekend and was scheduled to visit Florida next weekend, January 31st, but he has since canceled that visit. Time will tell if the Vols host him this weekend, but the signs are pointing in the right direction as of now.
One Response
He’s a complete knucklehead and everyone on the Georgia forums thinks he is a POS. I will gladly take him on our team. We haven’t been good since Fulmer stocked the roster with felons back in the day, and a felon/criminal he is not—so I don’t see why the kid wouldn’t look good in Orange.
Tennessee has what could be the best OL in the SEC next year, a 5 star QB coming in who by all accounts looks like the next big thing, a dirty athletic young WR corps and a wildly aggressive HC who has a boner for good RBs. Not to mention the biggest social media presence of any fanbase and 100k+ insane, delusional, forever faithful fans to cheer him on every week and around the country.