ORLANDO, Fla. — Zach Evans is no longer going to make his decision during the Under Armour 2020 All-American Game broadcast at 6 p.m. today on ESPN2.
He was set to be a part of trio of prospect announcements at the game who all strongly considered Georgia before they signed during the early period last month.
They made their choice then but opted to wait for the ESPN2 and Under Armour All-American Game platform to reveal their choices publicly.
That is no longer the case. The Under Armour game management staff has confirmed with DawgNation that he is no longer on the schedule for tonight.
Dontae Manning, a 4-star CB from Missouri, is slated for the third quarter. Those times are all tentative per the flow of the broadcast and will be set with a release in the Camping World Stadium press box on Thursday.
Evans slots in as the nation’s No. 1 RB and the No. 14 overall prospect (247Sports Composite ratings) for the 2020 cycle.
What could he bring to Georgia? Well, it certainly seems like the opinion shared by Georgia OT signee Chad Lindberg can certainly serve as a proper preview of what Evans could do between the hedges.
“He didn’t have the best senior season, but if he gets on path he’s someone who can win the Heisman two or three times,” Lindberg said at the Under Armour game this week.
There’s probably a little bit of “Texas forever” going into Lindberg’s scouting praise there. Those two guys are both from Texas and grew up going to some of the same prospect events together.
But that young man did have an approximate 5.43 grade-point average (on a 6.0 scale) heading into his senior year for a reason.
“I think Zach is the best running back in the nation,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg bases that opinion from the teams he has played against and from the damage he has seen Evans do on film.
“Every time I’ve seen him play, and I know the talent he plays against because I live 35 minutes away and we play the same teams,” Lindberg said. “There are some tough teams that he’s played against. I just see him absolutely run over people. I know the running backs that my school personally had will rush for 150 or something and he’ll get 220 by himself.”
Lindberg will enter UGA in late May or early June with enough credits to be a college sophomore. He aims to be able to earn a master’s degree in four years.
Let’s see how good that scouting opinion turns out to be then, too.
Zach Evans: His Under Armour All-American Game decision
Evans said he felt “relief” after he signed with one of those three teams during the early period.
“I said pressure earlier but I wasn’t a lot of pressure,” he said. “It was just like a lot of noise and a lot of schools trying to talk to you. A lot of schools trying to get back into your life. It is like the relationship with you and my family and just the relationship with you in general.”
When asked what makes him unique on the field, he came back with a humble reply.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know. I let the people tell me that.”
He realizes a lot of his gifts are God-given, but also credits the work that must be put in. He showed up as the first player on the practice field on the second day of the Under Armour All-American Game workouts earlier this week.
“I feel like I am working on everything,” he said. “I have got to get better at everything. Like right now, I am not even a freshman in college yet. So it is the fact that I’m not lifting and [other college players] are probably lifting right now or working or doing what they have got to do or if they play today and are getting ready to play today is just so surreal to me.”
Evans does plan to enroll early with one of those three schools later this month. He shared a few clear goals for his college experience.
“Put the work in,” he said. “Make it to the league. Get my degree.”
Where ever he goes, he has quite a physical array of tools to bring to that program. He can squat 615 pounds without the best form. He can run a laser 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds and can time at a ridiculous 3.83 seconds in the short shuttle drill.
When he lifted with his North Shore (Houston, Tex) teammates, he was in the group with the lineman. Evans would rep the same plates that they did. If it was too much, he would only take about 10 or 15 pounds off.
If Georgia is able to add both Evans and Washington to its 2020 class at the Under Armour All-American Game, it would slot them with the nation’s No. 3 class with just 21 prospects.
It would place an even greater emphasis on the upcoming Kelee Ringo decision at the All-American Bowl out in Texas on Jan. 4. Ringo is another 5-star target and the nation’s No.1 cornerback for 2020.
DawgNation: The All-American week coverage
- Theo Johnson offered up an opinion that says a lot about 5-star target Darnell Washington and Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley
- Arian Smith: The day after the big “L” from LSU, he gave Georgia a recruiting win
- WATCH: Brodrick Jones and Jalen Carter reps highlight the Day 3 one-on-one battles
- WATCH: Marcus Rosemy, Arian Smith explain what they’re bringing to the Georgia football wide receiver room
- How Georgia football ended up missing on Tank Bigsby, Theo Johnson and some of its top targets
- PHOTOS: Check out the Georgia football recruits on Day 2 of Under Armour All-American Bowl practices
- Elite RB signee Kendall Milton chooses to report earlier than expected to UGA
- WATCH: Georgia signee Arian Smith wins “Fastest Man” challenge at Under Armour
- Even before hiring Matt Luke, Chad Lindberg knew he was ‘the guy’ for Georgia football
- Sedrick Van Pran-Granger: All-American OL still feels ‘comfortable’ as a Georgia commit
- Incoming freshman Jalen Carter feels he can play a Tyler Clark-type role as a freshman
- What we learned about Georgia football recruits, targets at Under Armour All-American game media day
- Dontae Manning contrasts Georgia football and Oregon ahead of Jan. 2 announcement
- All-American week snapshot: Which UGA signees and targets play where
- Jordan Burch: Why Georgia didn’t even crack his final 3
- 5-star RB Zach Evans shares ‘strongest connection’ and scope of the decision before Jan. 2 announcement
- Even Mekhail Sherman was surprised when Kirby Smart, Georgia football flipped Jermaine Burton
- Broderick Jones: The 5-star OT details why he is still committed to Georgia