116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa lands Illinois athlete Samson Evans
Marc Morehouse
May. 22, 2017 4:11 pm
Samson Evans is a quarterback who last season wore the No. 22. Obviously, this is a kid whose jersey needs the 30-minute heavy wash cycle.
The 6-1, 190-pounder led Prairie Ridge (Ill.) High School to a Class 6A state championship last season as an option quarterback. He ran a power-option game for 2,211 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns, averaging 9.6 yards per carry.
Evans was 'the guy' in a Class 6A state championship offense. Colleges, of course, noticed and he picked up offers from 12 schools, including Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Syracuse and Iowa State.
On Sunday evening, Evans announced on Twitter that he picked the Hawkeyes.
'Everything about Iowa really caught my attention during the recruiting process,' Evans told HawkeyeReport.com. 'Their culture and the people they recruit is definitely one of the biggest things.'
Evans also completed 29 of 52 passes for 815 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Evans will join offensive lineman Jeff Jenkins in Iowa's 2018 recruiting class. Jenkins committed to the Hawkeyes earlier this year.
Evans' 2016 numbers came with just four games in which he played into the fourth quarter. Prairie Ridge had 10 straight games where it put a 40-point lead on opponents, thus triggering the running clock rule. In the state title game against Sacred Heart-Griffin, Ridge won, 48-17, and Evans rushed for 274 yards to set the individual rushing mark for Class 6A title games. The Wolves set the team rushing mark with a total of 544 yards.
At Iowa, he'll start out at wide receiver.
'They see me starting out as an outside receiver,' Evans said. 'They will work me in there and then potentially in the future I'll be an inside slot receiver.'
Evans is commitment No. 6 in Iowa's 2018 class. He joins Jenkins along with Wisconsin running back Henry Geil, Indianapolis wide receiver Tyrone Tracy, Iowa City West linebacker Dillon Doyle and Solon defensive tackle Tyler Linderbaum.
Rivals.com currently ranks Iowa's 2018 class No. 10 in the Big Ten and tied for 40th nationwide.
l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com
Samson Evans (Northwest Herald)