Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 PRESEASON 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Wadsworth (Ohio) Senior class of 2021 tight end Mitchell Evans com- mitted to Notre Dame July 31, choos- ing the Fighting Irish over 23 other programs, including Florida State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State and Virginia. Notre Dame offered Evans June 30, right in the thick of the NCAA's dead period, which doesn't allow coaches to have face-to-face contact with pro- spective student-athletes. There is no rule against recruits taking their own self-guided tour of a campus, though, and Evans made the trip to South Bend for the weekend of July 17-19. Evans felt that Notre Dame was the place he wanted to be, but his parents didn't want him to make an emotional decision so he mulled it over for a week. And then on July 27, Evans gave his future position coach, John Mc- Nulty, a call to give him the good news. "I told Coach McNulty, and he was actually at Coach [Tommy] Rees' house," Evans said. "I told them at the same time, and then got to talk to Coach [Brian] Kelly later that night. "They were really excited. I feel like I made the right decision, and they do too. They think I'm going to fit in well there." Evans was able to speak with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly a couple times on the phone before his commitment, but his favorite call was when he told him of his deci- sion. "He was so happy that we made the right decision of going to Notre Dame," Evans noted. Evans took a few days to inform the other coaching staffs that re- cruited him of his decision and used social media to inform the public of his commitment. "I had some pretty good choices, but I feel that Notre Dame fits me academically, socially and athleti- cally," Evans said. "It just felt right when I was on campus; it's beautiful. It all tied in together for what I want in college." Since Evans' commitment, the con- versations between he and McNulty have new topics, but they speak just as frequently as prior to his verbal. "I talk to him about once every couple days because he's not grilling me about coming to Notre Dame," Evans said with a laugh. "Now it's just checking up on me. I think my mom talks to him every day because she'll have questions for him, and she's talk- ing to the academic ad- visors about graduat- ing early." Evans' summer was an enjoyable one with the attention he re- ceived on the recruit- ing front, but he feels a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "I feel relieved," he said. "I made the right decision and have grown my relationship stronger with the other commits and the coaches. Now I'm focusing on high school." Evans has enjoyed being in the Notre Dame commits' group chat — the Irish verbals talk daily about what's going on with their recruiting class among other random topics. Since there have been no recruiting trips, he hasn't been able to meet his future comrades. However, he did get to run into Avon (Ind.) High and Irish offensive tackle recruit Blake Fisher while on campus in July. "That was awesome," Evans said. "I didn't have any connections with any players in my grade at any school. I didn't talk to any other commits other than Blake and Notre Dame." Some pundits and even college coaches believe that Evans, who is listed at 6-7, 240 pounds, may just grow into playing offensive tackle. Evans notes that it hasn't been dis- cussed with Notre Dame. "They haven't brought it up, so I would think they don't have any plans of moving me there unless I grow out of tight end — vertically or weight-wise," he explained. "I'm going to try to come into Notre Dame around 233-235." As a junior, Evans caught 19 passes for 306 yards and seven touchdowns, plus he had three rushes for 61 yards and one score. Rivals gives Evans a 5.7 recruit ranking, the highest designation for a three-star prospect, and lists him as the No. 28 tight end nationally. Evans' mother played volleyball at Akron, and his father was on the football team at Kent State. His older sister currently plays volleyball at Georgia. — Mike Singer COMMITMENT PROFILE MITCHELL EVANS Notre Dame Secures Second Tight End Commit Of 2021 Class The 6-7, 240-pound Evans — the No. 28 tight end nationally per Rivals — caught 19 passes for 306 yards and seven touchdowns during his junior season at Wadsworth (Ohio) Senior. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Film Analysis "Mitchell Evans is fun to watch. I get the reaction from people who think he's going to grow into a tackle, but he's a really good athlete. He has great short-area quickness and really light feet. "I can see him being a fan favorite. He's more physical with the ball in his hands than without it. He gets more aggressive once he starts toting the rock. He has fun when he's out there playing. I think he could even grow into a defensive end. "When I watch tape, I always think, 'Would I offer that kid?' And absolutely I would with him. He's a big, athletic kid. If he grows into a tackle, he'll be really good because he has great feet. It'll be fun to see what he turns into." — Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Mike Goolsby "I had some pretty good choices, but I feel that Notre Dame fits me aca- demically, socially and athletically. It just felt right when I was on cam- pus; it's beautiful. It all tied in together for what I want in college." EVANS