MACON, Ga. — Every kid that plays the game of football dreams of getting "The Call" one day. It's a quick exchange with a NFL team that says they're willing to take a chance on a prospect. It's a call that Derrick Evans Jr. is hoping he gets this week.
Even before Evans was making spectacular plays for the Central Chargers on Friday nights, he knew his shot at the NFL was a long one.
"All my life I've always been an underdog. Me and my mom talk about it all the time," Evans said.
After throwing for over 2,000 yards his senior year and being named All-Region and All-State, he signed on the dotted line with Carson Newman University on the way to being a three year starter.
"Everybody has their different journey, like I always wanted to be the guy that went DI. In my case I went DII, but I went there and made a name for myself and left a mark at Carson Newman," Evans said.
He didn't just leave a mark, it was more of a crater. He was a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference Selections and set a school record for touchdowns in a game. Dodging doubters like tacklers, he declared for the draft.
Evans played against new Mercer head coach, Drew Cronic, while he was the head man at Lenoir-Rhyne Univerity. Cronic allowed him to hold his pro day at Mercer along with other draft hopefuls like Will Coneway and Chris Ellington.
"I just look at it as a big interview, just being able to go out there and show my talents in front of the scouts and just praying that somebody would take the chance on me," Evans said.
Now he plays the waiting game. Evans hopes to get a phone call from an NFL team this week that could change his life. He says he can only leave his fate in God's hands.
"I'm just going to enjoy the moment because it's something that we've all been training for for a long time just to sit back and watch it and embrace everything like 'Wow, I am a part of this.' And it's just a good feeling to know you worked hard to get here no matter how it goes."
The NFL draft begins on April 23rd, until then Evans plans to continue to train and hang out with some family while he waits on 'the call.'
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