Five-star RB Zachary Evans lands at TCU

The Zachary Evans saga has reached its conclusion.

Evans, the No. 1-ranked running back in the Class of 2020, signed with Georgia last December. However, after backing out of that deal and going unsigned through the second signing period in February, the five-star talent is already taking classes at his new university.

Evans signed his paperwork and enrolled at classes at TCU on Monday, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. Fort Worth will be the home to the Galena Park (Texas) North Shore superstar who got caught in one of the more wild recruitments in recent memory.

The five-star had plans to commit to Georgia last September on the anniversary of his grandfather's death, but that never transpired. He flirted with a trio of SEC West teams in between, including Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M, before privately signing with Georgia on the Friday of the three-day Early Signing Period last December.

Evans had planned to reveal his decision, publicly, at the 2020 Under Armour All-America Game before electing not to do so and instead, issuing an apology to the coaches on the ESPN broadcast. Soon after, Georgia released the five-star running back from his national letter of intent, which effectively reopened his recruiting process.

Evans made an official visit to Ole Miss and Tennessee and was supposed to visit Florida earlier in the spring. That visit to Gainesville, Fla., never transpired amid the CoVid-19 pandemic and the ensuing stay-at-home orders. Evans quietly went about his business for several months before enrolling at TCU early Monday morning.

Evans showed a high level of interest in four SEC teams for the bulk of his recruitment, including Georgia and Texas A&M. Sources familiar with Evans' situation told Rivals that the running back paid close attention to the 2020 NFL Draft in April and noticed that besides Clyde Edwards-Helaire (No. 32 pick to Kansas City Chiefs), a good portion of running backs from the SEC did not come off the board in the first round. Those sources indicated that by attending TCU and playing in a wide-open offense that'll allow Evans to catch passes out of the backfield, his draft stock would ultimately be higher.

TCU assembled the nation's No. 24-ranked recruiting class on Rivals in 2020 -- a group headlined by Rivals100 wide receiver Quentin Johnston and Rivals250 linemen Garrett Hayes and Patrick Jenkins. Evans will go down as the highest-ranked member of the class and the third tailback of the group.

"At the end of the day, I wanted to stay closer to home so that my grandmother could see me play," Evans told Rivals. "I have a great opportunity to come in and help the team play early. I think TCU can help me get to the next level and get a great education. They had two first-round picks in the NFL Draft this year."

Evans, who found the end zone in the Under Armour All-America Game, finished the 2020 cycle as the No. 1 prospect in Texas, the No. 1 running back in the country and the No. 13 overall player in the class.

Evans is one of the more uniquely gifted running back prospects and a generational type of talent for the position. He's a true freak at a position that is slowly becoming undervalued and picked TCU partly because of the opportunity to showcase his skill-set in a prolific offense, but also catch passes out of the backfield and show off his versatility.

Evans, who measures up at 6-feet and 200 pounds with a verified 4.51-second 40 and 3.91-second shuttle, he's a freak that combines brute power with rare explosiveness, athleticism and elusiveness, which makes for a true weapon any which way you look at it. Evans also has testing numbers of 34 inches (vertical jump), 36 feet (power throw) and a 117.42 (SPARQ rating). He's also clocked an 11.39-second 100-meter time.

Despite missed time as a senior for Galena Park (Texas) North Shore High School, Evans managed 1,600 yards rushing and 20 trips to the end zone. He averaged a whopping 12.6 yards per touch en route to helping lead his Mustangs to back-to-back Class 6A Division-I state championships over Dallas-area powerhouse Duncanville High.

Evans possesses rare vision to see running lanes open up often before his blockers can pave the way for him. He has the speed to bounce runs outside or the short-area quickness to cut runs back inside and explode through them for big chunk gains or more than likely hit pay dirt. Evans pairs that vision and instincts with the ability to be both slippery and physical, to run through would-be tacklers or evade them in space and also hit his second gear running.

The physical traits that Evans exhibits in his game allow him to more patient than most high school running backs. He follows his blockers and has the ability to blow past a host of defenders when he finds the light. Pair that with his quick feet and decisiveness, which helps him to make really sharp cuts -- and quickly. He's decisive and follows his blocks well and can see running lanes open up before they do.

Evans in the open field is an absolute horror for any defender left in that situation. He can easily run around, over or through somebody in his path. Evans has leaped would-be tacklers, lowered his shoulder and powered through them, or utilized a nasty stiff-arm to make his way. He also has the ability to shake them and leave them in his dust, and it needs to be stated how uncanny it is to have the capacity to win in 1-on-1 situations in all of those different ways.

Evans is no slouch in the passing game. He has good hands and thrives in any situation where he's left 1-on-1 with a defender or put in space. He's a true three-down back that will eventually be a home-run threat in the TCU offense. The Horned Frogs love to throw out three- and four-receiver sets, which should open up running lanes for Evans to power through or leave wide-open options in the passing game.

Whether it's a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line or third-and-a-mile at midfield, there is no reason that Evans shouldn't be on the field. He's a versatile home-run threat and a big play waiting to happen that should find the end zone on plenty of occasions inside The Carter.