The fact that Virginia Tech was able to smuggle coveted recruit Darren Evans out of the heart of Big Ten country still surprises running backs coach Billy Hite.
"(It's) unbelievable, it really is, to get a kid of that caliber from that far away," Hite said. "That one day we got to spend a lot of time together, I had a chance to work him out on the field. I came back in and I said, 'I want to see that film again.' I watched the film, and we obviously called his high school coach and offered him a scholarship."
Despite Evans' rapid emergence in 2008, culminating with a 253-yard school-record rushing performance in only his ninth collegiate game, his redshirt season at Tech last year was difficult to endure without football or his two-year-old son, James. He even briefly considered transferring closer to home to be with his family back in the Midwest.
"It was real hard, just because a lot of people know I have a son, and not being able to see him, and not being able to do the one thing I've been doing all my life, you know," Evans, now a 20-year-old redshirt freshman, said. "I just felt like it was kind of like the two things you love the most were taken away from you. It was real hard, real tough for me to finally get through that, and it was a long year, one of the longer years of my life."
What a difference a year can make, though. Taneesha Lange -- Evans' girlfriend and the mother of his child -- and James have moved to Blacksburg where they live together in an off-campus apartment.
The coaching staff at Tech understands Evans' situation and is impressed with the way he has managed to juggle football, schoolwork and his obligations as a father.
"It's a full load, it really is, but that's the thing," Hite said. "He's found time to keep his schoolwork up. He's getting good grades, he has time to get the class work done and at the same time he has time to be a father, too ... and all the meetings we have, the weightlifting. It's just amazing, but he's that kind of kid. He's disciplined, and he knows what he has to do to be successful, and he's going to be successful."
As a native of Indianapolis, Evans normally would not be on Tech's recruiting radar, but he had some special connections.
"His high school coach was great friends with (Defensive Coordinator Bud) Foster and (Defensive Line Coach Charlie) Wiles. He brought four kids through, and they made a tour that summer. They went to Big Ten schools, SEC schools, and their last stop was Virginia Tech. In fact, they decided at the last minute just to come to Virginia Tech," Hite said.
With his family nearby and football back in his life, Evans worked hard through spring and fall practices, waiting for his time to shine.
Since the season-ending injury to Kenny Lewis Jr., Evans has seized the opportunity, totaling 772 yards and nine touchdowns in the team's nine games. Evans does realize the expectations of being the starting running back at Tech, especially now they've perhaps heightened.
"I wanted to come in and play early, but to be starting right now and breaking the record and all that, you really think about that," Evans said. "You really kind of think about that towards your senior year you want to have stuff like that accomplished, but for it to be done now, it's kind of hard because you know the bar is going to be set higher for you."
His emergence couldn't have come at a better time, though, with questions surrounding the quarterback position and a struggling passing offense.
"Right now with the different injuries we've got going on, having a good running game is critical, and I think it helps us throw the football a little. I think being able to run it like that has helped us to throw it," head coach Frank Beamer said.
Evans rumbles for extra yards by dishing out some pain at the end of his runs.
"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."