Collegiate Times

Evans searches for an open running lane.

"It's just like if you're little and a guy's picking on you, you're going to try to avoid him as much as you can because you don't want to get picked on. That's what I try to do," Evans said. "My dad told me when I was little, 'Bring the wood before they bring it to you, and toward the end of the game they won't want to hit you anymore.' So, that's kind of been a staple on the way I run throughout my career"

By punishing defenders, he weakens the defense, putting some fear in the next guy up to tackle him.

"Sometimes, it's just about the way they come up to hit me. You can just tell, you can see it in their eye ... after a while they don't want to play anymore, just trying to get in my way, or hopefully they can slow me down or something," Evans said.

Evans' size and strength will again play a factor tonight against Miami's fast, physical defense -- ranking fourth in the ACC in rushing defense.

"Sure, really, and the big thing is too, is he's a load to tackle being that big. By the end of the game, he's wearing people out. They got tired of tackling him the other night," Hite said. "So, obviously, we're going to have to continue to run the football late in the game especially if we have the lead."

Hite wants to see the game controlled tomorrow as it was last week against the Terps.

"We need to control the football like we did against Maryland. The other team can't score if they don't have the football, and we had the ball against Maryland for 37 minutes the other night, and that's what you'd like to see for every ball game," Hite said.

Even Evans' physical nature in his running style has inspired the big boys on the offensive line to up their game.

"As an offensive line, you see a guy breaking tackles, getting 20-yard carries, stuff like that, you kind of feed off that," said redshirt senior offensive guard Nick Marshman. "You like that and you want to see him excel. You kind of feed off of what he's doing, and you just feel better and you keep blocking better."

As all major college athletes, Evans expressed a desire to improve his performance and address his flaws.

"Just understanding not only our offense the best I can, but the defense that we go against," Evans said. "How different blitzes run, how different teams run their defense, being able to know what they're going to do and how it will affect the way our play turns out."

Hite understands and appreciates Evans' early success, but he hopes he can be even better in the future.

"Right now, he's off to a great start, he really is," Hite said. "And it's not how you start, it's how you finish to me is the most important thing."

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