Shaquelle Evans with the media on Freshman Media Day, August 21.
When you ask Shaquelle Evans about his meteoric rise up the wide receiver depth chart, he can’t even explain it.
Evans arrived on campus this summer with a laundry list of more modest concerns – passing his summer classes, homesickness, learning the playbook – so cracking the lineup didn’t even make the list.
“It was little overwhelming at first, coming from high school where you don’t really do anything,” Evans said with a wry smile. “To come here and actually have to work, it was a little overwhelming at first, but as time went on after a couple of weeks, I got used to it and I settled down a little bit.”
Once Evans found his routine the rest started to come naturally. In just two short weeks of camp, Evans has risen from No. 5 on the X receiver depth chart behind George West into a legitimate battle with Duval Kamara as the No. 3 receiver in the rotation.
Evans brings Golden Tate type speed to the lineup and gives Charlie Weis another set of options in the passing game. Weis can line up Evans opposite Tate and have big-time speed on both sides of the field, or he can play Evans in place of Tate and not lose any speed in the lineup.
There is still plenty of learning to do, but given the way Evans performed in the open practice last Saturday, he’s a quick study.
“One thing you like is to have another guy, like Golden (Tate), that can run real fast, and that’s what Shaq can do,” Weis said. “As a matter of fact, Shaq is a much more polished receiver coming in the door than Golden was because Golden was a running back that we converted to a wide receiver.”
Wide receiver coach Rob Ianello also passed high praise to Evans, saying his young student has that “feel” for the position that can’t be taught. Evans wanted to get a head start before he arrived on campus in June so he requested that Ianello send him some “homework,” which has helped flatten the learning curve during camp.
“He’s been able to make some plays,” Ianello said. “That’s what’s going to maybe separate whoever the third receiver is, who can make plays, and be a reliable person. He has done that so far on occasion.”
Evans originally committed to USC, but he took an official visit to Notre Dame for the Purdue game on Sept. 27 and had a change of heart. During his U.S. Army All-American Bowl selection on Nov. 7, he gave his pledge to Notre Dame, noting, “I love the place.”
Sporting News called Evans the best playmaker in the West, and that became apparent during that open session when he worked over fine cornerback Robert Blanton in one drill for a long touchdown catch. Evans had 51 receptions for 810 yards and 11 touchdowns as a high school senior, and he reeled in 37 passes for 700 yards and six scores as a junior.
Evans admitted that coming to the Midwest from California has been an adjustment, but if he can survive his calculus class, than this football thing should be a breeze.
“Calculus? When I got the class, I was stunned. We have to take calculus?” Evans said of his first summer school experience. “I don’t know if I can do that and I ended up passing it with a C, and then I passed my writing class with an A.
“The best part is getting to know all my friends in the freshman class, getting to know all of these guys, learning from the older players, and finding out that I could pass a college class. I came here scared of the classes.”
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