On Saturday all of Chris Evans’ hard work, perseverance and resilience materialized into his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the NFL draft. If you’re looking at him today don’t get caught up on just seeing the tip of the iceberg. What most people see is the part that’s sticking out of the water with NFL draft pick stitched on his back.
In order to appreciate the man they call “Kid-N-Play” you’ve got to look under the water and appreciate the struggle and the faith he had in getting to this moment. It looks all good today but Chris Evans showed the world how much character he really had in 2019.
Coming out of Indianapolis Ben Davis High School in 2016. He was one of the top 15 running back recruits in the country when he signed with the Michigan Wolverines. He quickly became a star playing in all 13 games as a true freshman rushing for 614 yards on just 88 carries.
He made a name for himself as a reliable back for the Wolverines over the next several years. However, in February of 2019, just before his senior season, he was suspended by the university. According to Evans, it was an academic mistake. He would be kicked out of school, off of the football team and no longer on scholarship for a year.
Most kids would have packed it up and went to the crib. Not Chris Evans though!! He humbled himself, took the punishment and never gave up on his dream to finish what he’d started.
His parent told him that he could come home and figure it out but he chose to stay in Ann Arbor. One of the biggest stars on campus decided to get a job delivering pizzas using the salary and tips to make ends meet. He took online classes and worked out consistently. Hold on a second…do you realize how much humility it took for the Big Man On Campus (BMOC) to deliver pizzas when everyone knew that he was suspended from both school and the team?
That in and of itself tells you everything you need to know about the character of Chris Evans. I would bet that 99.99999999999% of kids would have easily taken their parents up on the offer to go to the crib and hide out from the shame of not being on the team at the time. Chris Evans took it like a G and made it to the other side.
He was reinstated for the 2020 season and did enough to get drafted by the Bengals. There’s nothing this kid won’t be able to accomplish going forward.
I feel sorry for the other cats trying to make that roster in Cincinnati playing running back this year because you can put Evans on the 53 man roster TODAY. No way he’s getting cut after what he’s been through to get to this point. His resilience alone will earn him a spot. We already know that he’s talented enough to make it. Congrats lil’ homie you’ve already made the crib VERY proud! Stop me when I start lyin’!
