Junior quarterback target Ty Evans, who is being recruited by the Arkansas Razorbacks, visited Fayetteville on June 12-13 and arrived back in town Saturday for a multiday visit.
Evans, 6-2, 185 pounds, of Monument (Colo.) Palmer Ridge, received his first scholarship offer from the Hogs on May 17. He has since added offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas State and Northwestern.
Palmer Ridge Coach Tom Pulford is high on Evans’ potential.
“A lot of times when you talk about potential, somebody quickly infers they haven’t done anything yet and that’s simply not the case with Ty,” Pulford said. “He’s already produced at a high level.”
Evans’ mobility, touch and ability to throw accurately on the run helped him complete 197 of 328 passes for 3,130 yards and 30 touchdowns as a sophomore while throwing only 5 interceptions.
“He led our team to the first conference championship in school history,” Pulford said. “We’re a pretty young school just opening in 2008.”
Pulford has the character that college coaches covet and the qualities Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema often refers to as “uncommon.”
“I can say this with confidence, Ty Evans is a better human being than he is a quarterback,” Pulford said. “Yeah, he has a great arm and has phenomenal footwork. He’s a true student of the game. He works like he’s the No. 2 quarterback. He works every day like he has to come out and prove himself and as if he hasn’t started a game yet.”
Evans’ parents accompanied him on both trips to Fayetteville. His parents plan to move to the city where Evans attends college.
Even as an underclassman, he has shown maturity beyond his years and is looked upon as a leader of the team and helps motivate others to push themselves to be the best they can be, Pulford said.
“That level of humility and that level of work ethic and his level of talent is a very rare combination,” Pulford said. “It’s a very good combination because what it does it spurs everybody else in our program to work harder and achieve higher levels of success, both individually and as a team.”
The coach also said Evans doesn’t see summer workouts as burdensome.
“Ty looks at it as an opportunity to get better, and that’s contagious among his teammates,” Pulford said. “Everybody plays at a higher level because of his presence and everybody competes at a higher level because of his work ethic.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos visited the school to watch Evans work out and during the session, Pulford’s son Eli helped shag balls while Pulford snapped the ball to Evans.
“Ty always stops what he’s doing and says ‘Hi’ to Eli and says ‘Hi’ to my daughter Natalie,” Pulford said. “Even in the moments where Ty has an opportunity to perform at a high level, he still stops says ‘Hi,’ not just to my kids, but anybody’s kids around the program. He builds a personal relationship with them and knows something about them.
“Even though there are bright lights shining upon Ty, the light that shines within him so brighter because of the way he interacts with everybody in the program, from his position coaches down to youngsters looking up to him.”
Pulford said his son won’t have the opportunity to be Evans’ teammate, but he will reap the benefits of knowing him that will impact him later in life.
“That’s going to be a big deal for him for years to come,” Pulford said.
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com