Following favorite
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Jerod Evans never thought he would have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his favorite football player, Cam Newton, but that changed Friday with a phone call.
Evans, a sophomore dual-threat quarterback at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, spoke with Auburn offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Rhett Lashlee.
"I was shocked and very excited," Evans said. "I was very happy to hear from him. I've never been to Auburn, but trust me when I say that I know a lot about Auburn."
That has a lot to do with Newton, the Carolina Panthers' quarterback whose path from high school to the NFL took him through a four-year school, a Texas junior college and Auburn.
Evans followed it closely.
"He's my favorite quarterback," Evans said. "I've seen him go from Florida to Blinn (College) and then to Auburn. I saw him have success at Auburn and now I'm seeing the success he's having in the NFL."
Evans, who's built like Newton at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, hopes to take a similar route.
Speaking with Lashlee, who worked closely with Newton in 2010 at Auburn as a graduate assistant under then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, is the first step.
"The conversation went excellent. It went very well," Evans said. "Coach Lashlee gave me the rundown of their quarterback situation at Auburn and what they are looking for, that they'd like to sign a dual-threat junior college guy this year."
Evans hopes he's the one. He could be a solid performance away from becoming it.
"Coach Lashlee said the reason he couldn't offer is because they want to make sure they have a high-character guy," Evans said. "They want to see me in person."
Lashlee will attend Trinity Valley's game against Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, Ark. on Oct. 17.
"He wants to see me throw the ball, how I run and how I handle myself," Evans said. "He wants to see how I am as far as a leader both on and off the field."
Evans welcomes the evaluation.
"I'm not sweating it," he said. "I don't have a problem with leadership or doing what I need to do on or off the field. Those are the least of my worries."
Evans' stats give no reason to doubt his on-the-field performance.
Evans leads the nation in nearly every passing category, including touchdown passes (28) and passing yards per game (381.8).
The former Mansfield (Texas) High standout was named National Junior College Offensive Player of the Week last week after accounting for eight touchdowns in a game. Evans completed 21-of-26 passes for 365 yards and seven touchdowns, and also rushed for 58 yards and a score in a 61-32 win over Kilgore.
His season totals are just as impressive. Evans is 136 for 219 passing (62.1%) for 2,291 yards with 28 touchdowns and only two interceptions in six games. He's also rushed for 335 yards and three touchdowns on 60 carries (5.6 avg.).
"Coach Lashlee is going to sit down and talk to Coach Malzahn about me after seeing me in person," Evans said. "I know a lot about Auburn producing a lot of junior college quarterbacks and sending them to the NFL. That's my aspiration, going to the league and I know Auburn can get me there."
Evans graduated from Mansfield in 2012, spent a year at the Air Force Prep School, which doesn't count towards his college eligibility, and a year at the Academy before transferring to Trinity Valley.
Evans is scheduled to graduate in December and enroll at a four-year school in January. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, much like Newton did when he came out of Blinn.
Evans just needs the same opportunity Auburn gave Newton.
"I hope I get an offer," Evans said. "They wouldn't regret it. I promise you that."
Evans' 2014 JUCO Highlights
