Zach Evans was 'clawing out the inside' of his skin waiting to show NFL teams what he can do
The past month has been a long and excruciating one for Zach Evans but Wednesday helped allow some of the stress to be released.
The former Ole Miss running back participated in Pro Day along with 10 other former Rebels and for Evans it was the first time any NFL scouts or coaches were able to lay eyes on him during drills.
Due to a hamstring injury Evans did not participate in any of the testing or drills at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month, though he did still attend the weekend to meet with teams. Because of that it was a long few weeks until he was able to get back on a field yesterday at the Ole Miss indoor practice facility.
“Very eager. It was like, I had, it was clawing out the inside of my skin at the combine,” Evans said after Pro Day. “Just being able to support the boys that was there. Everything’s been good. Everything was a blessing. Just taking in a lot of each coach, listening to the correction they doing to the other boys. Just taking it all in at once.”
Evans posted an unofficial 40-yard dash time of 4.45 seconds on the first attempt, which was his best of the two (second attempt was 4.52). He ran the 20-yard shuttle in 4.26 and had a three-cone drill time of 7.08.
Beyond the usual combine testing drills, Evans was also able to showcase his ability as a running back in front of an audience that included all 31 NFL teams and one representative from the CFL.
“It’s been good. It’s been a blessing,” Evans said. “Just trying to enjoy every step of the way. Been a lot of ups and downs but I’m just here to hopefully show them what I got.
“I was able to prepare the way that I wanted towards the end, but I want to say the injury did slow (me) down a little bit. Just keep my head up, keep positive thoughts. Attacking day by day, do what’s you got to do. I was able to get everything right.”
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The first part of the process of preparing for the NFL Draft is over for Evans who is happy with how his Pro Day performance went.
Now the next month will include team visits and meeting with any teams that have particular interest in Evans.
“My talks have been real good,” Evans said. “I feel like on my end I’ve been real efficient knowing my protections, knowing the run game, knowing the scheme and stuff like that. Being able to answer their questions the way they want me to.”
Evans noted the “buzz” around him is getting louder. He’s heard from the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Commanders.
The Houston native was a Cowboys fan growing up while the rest of his family are Texans fans. Evans has a visit with the Cowboys, Jets and Carolina Panthers lined up.
“This is something I’ve been thinking about since I was a kid,” Evans said of achieving his NFL dream. “I’ve always knew what I wanted to be in life. Just being able to take the steps to get to it is real surreal.”
