‘Great Story’ – Evans Looms as Key Offensive-Line Factor
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A healthy Drew Evans is ready to make maximum impact in what looms as another national title contending Indiana football season.
“It was a huge time to hone things down and sharpen yourself,” the 6-foot-4, 307-pound redshirt senior offensive lineman says. “It was really beneficial for me.”
It should also be really beneficial for a Hoosier team seeking a strong follow up to its 16-0 national title run.
Injuries cost Evans four games in each of the last two seasons. He thrived in the spring, with better vocal leadership a big priority. That was especially important with veteran offensive linemen Carter Smith and Bray Lynch sidelined with injuries.
“I’ve gotten better at being vocal,” he says. “I had to be that vocal piece (in the spring) as one of the only returners out there. It falls to me. I’m doing better.”
Missing the final four games of the 2024 season, and then four more late last season (although he was back for the final title push) was misery for Evans, who had become a key member of one of the nation’s best offensive lines during the program’s first-ever playoff appearance. He called it “mentally challenging” that he couldn’t be on the field with teammates he has said are his “best friends in the world,” and said it required a “different kind of toughness” to overcome.
He did. Last season’s national championship proved that.
Evans played left guard last season but got some spring work at center as the Hoosiers look to replace standout Pat Coogan. While Lynch will likely get the job, head coach Curt Cignetti says Evans is “another guy who could be a pretty good center.”
Evans says he’s spent time watching film of Coogan, analyzing the little things he did and said, and the calls he made.
“I’m trying to learn everything I can about the position because Pat is a good example of a really good center. It’s been an adjustment, but I’m slowly getting better and used to it.”
Before becoming a Hoosier, Evans was a preferred walk-on at Wisconsin after a standout Wisconsin high school career that included lettering in basketball and track as well as football. He broke a 54-year-old school shot put record with a 54-foot-10.5 effort.
In two years as a Badger, he never played, which didn’t mean he wasn’t noticed. Then Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad -- now at IU -- liked was he saw then and remembered when he joined the Hoosiers and entered the transfer portal. Bostad put in a good word with Cignetti, and a full-ride scholarship was offered and accepted.
Evans appreciated it then and still does.
“Coach Bostad believed in me. He went to bat for me. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Evans’ impact can’t be overstated, although it can get lost in the anonymity that comes from even the best offensive line play. The Hoosiers have rated among the nation’s best in rushing and pass protection over the last two seasons, with skill players such as quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Kurtis Rourke, and running backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black getting most of the attention.
Still, Evans played a big role in that, and likely will again as IU seeks, behind another powerhouse offensive line, to continue its run of offensive dominance this coming season.
“Our offensive line can be pretty good,” Evans says. “We have a lot of good guys. We mesh together really well. The sky is the limit.”
The sky got a boost with the arrival of veteran offensive lineman Joe Brunner, who transferred from Wisconsin. Evans had a role in Brunner’s decision to become a Hoosier. They played together for the Badgers during Brunner’s freshman season.
“He’s a really smart guy,” Brunner says of Evans. “Watching him come here and develop as a player, and how he talked about this place, this campus, and this university, it was hard to pass up (coming to IU).”
Evans likes what he’s seen from young offensive linemen Baylor Wilkin, a redshirt freshman and Adedamola Ajani, a redshirt sophomore.
The 6-foot-5, 289-pound Wilkin played in four games last season as a true freshman -- Kennesaw State, Illinois, Maryland, and Purdue.
During the spring, with Smith out, Wilkin got plenty of work.
“He got a lot of reps against higher caliber guys,” Evans says. “I think that he's really stepped up to that challenge. It's been nice to see him rise to the occasion. He’s done a really good job.”
The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Ajani has played in 15 career games in two IU seasons. Last year, he played in 12 games with four starts, the first coming at Penn State.
“Last season was huge for him,” Evans says. “He really stepped up in those big games. He’s taken that charge we’ve given him in stride. He’s done a really good job.”
Evans, who has earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in each of the last two seasons, envisions applying to medical school when his football playing days are over.
“He wants to be a doctor,” Cignetti says. “He’s a smart player who gives his all. He’s a great story. He’s just a tough, super kid.”