Zach Evans flirted with signing with Ole Miss in the immediate aftermath of the Rebels’ hiring of Lane Kiffin in December 2019.
Two years later, Kiffin got his man.
Evans announced his intentions to transfer to Ole Miss Thursday, less than a week after the Rebels lost, 21-7, to Baylor in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. In the aftermath of that loss, Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy said he’d played his final game in a Rebel uniform. On Wednesday, another Ole Miss running back, Snoop Conner, declared for the NFL Draft.
Evans, a 6-foot, 200-pound former five-star recruit from Houston (North Shore), Texas, had 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns on 146 carries in his two-season career at TCU. However, when Gary Patterson leaving and being replaced by former SMU coach Sonny Dykes, Evans elected to enter the transfer portal.
Evans last played in an Oct. 23 loss to West Virginia, rushing 18 times for 62 yards. A week earlier, in a win at Texas Tech, Evans rushed 17 times for 143 yards. A a turf toe injury forced him to miss the Horned Frogs’ final five games.
For the season, Evans added 10 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.
“One of the best high school running backs I’ve covered in person, Evans’ skill-set on the field has never been a question mark,” Rivals recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman said. “At one point the No 1 player in America, he’s a three-down back that gives Ole Miss a downhill runner that can also catch, make defenders miss in the open field and can add even more big-splash potential to the offense. There have been off the field issues surrounding Evans dating back to his time at North Shore High School, sure, but he’s a Day-1 draft pick in terms of on-field ability and he should emerge as the focal point in the offense in due time.”
“While it seems like Evans hasn’t been in the headlines since his extended high school recruitment, he was a star at TCU and should have a major impact at Ole Miss next season,” Spiegelman’s Rivals colleague, Woody Wommack, said. “He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands and he’s a complete three-down back and should give Kiffin the best running back he’s had at his disposal during his time in Oxford. One of his biggest gripes in Fort Worth was his lack of touches but I don’t think that will be an issue with the Rebels and I expect him to be one of the SEC’s best backs next season.”
Assuming he’s eligible to play immediately, Evans will four years of overall eligibility, including three on the field.
Evans considered a return to TCU, Tennessee and several other programs before focusing in on Ole Miss.
Evans had a bit of a controversial ending to his high school career. It came to a head when he was suspended for a playoff game after refusing to hand over his phone prior to the game.
"So that definitely hovers over his eval process, and made things difficult," said Parker Fleming, Writer at Football Outsiders and Host of the Purple Theory Podcast. "Second, he's an odd guy. I'm talking, he doesn't really fit the traditional mold of 'elite meathead athlete.' He's artistic -- draws wolves, weirdly enough -- quiet, etc. Those two things and his resulting weird recruitment got him labeled a 'mental health' risk, etc. But overall, those concerns were overblown.
"Academically, he has not had any issues at TCU. He has been held out once and held himself out a couple of times this season, and that's related to his usage. He's absolutely dynamic out of the backfield, but one of the big selling points at TCU was that he was going to be involved in the passing game. That never really manifested in 2020, and then this season, TCU really tried to rely on him as a workhorse. In multiple games -- Texas tech and Texas to start -- he held himself out of the second half and the team cited conditioning. I believe that wasn't untrue, but more so related to him not wanting to break his body to be a bellcow for a borderline 6-6 team."
Fleming said he believes Evans decided to leave TCU prior to Patterson's departure, as Evans and Patterson seemed to butt heads at times. Still, Evans is, Fleming said, "one of the most dynamic backs I've seen. Out of the pistol, he can get downhill so incredibly fast, and then he gets to the second level and can outrun linebackers so well. He's not a scat-back kind of small guy, and he's not exactly a bowling ball, but he has that kind of jaguar grace and power combination.
"In the passing game, his speed sets him apart. His hands are just above average, but he can create space really well. Honestly, TCU's offense was such a mess some of their best plays were checkdowns to Evans. They ran periodically last year this inside wheel route to Evans that was just devastating, but the quarterback overthrew him a couple of times so they abandoned it.
"He's extremely versatile, could easily line up in the slot and be the jet motion man or run shorter routes. He's not a great blocker, which is probably why TCU insisted on a rotation of running backs, but some of that might be related to investment/motivation."
