New Story ***Hawkeyes land Samson Evans***

[Blair Sanderson]

Hawkeyes land Samson Evans
Blair Sanderson | Editor

High School teammates Jeff Jenkins and Samson Evans are both headed to Iowa.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have landed Illinois Player of the Year Samson Evans. The versatile 6-foot-1, 190-pound Evans, a three-star prospect in the Class of 2018, announced his verbal commitment to the Iowa coaching staff today.

"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."

An option quarterback in high school, Evans projects at wide receiver for the Hawkeyes. Last year, as a junior, he rushed for 2,211 yards and 43 touchdowns in leading Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge to a state title in Class 6A.

"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 chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, Indiana, Syracuse, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois, among others.

"It was something that was dwelling on me and I didn't want to drag it on any longer than I had to," said Evans. "Iowa was a perfect fit for me and I knew that there wasn't much more of a reason to wait."


Overall, Evans is commitment No. 6 for the Hawkeyes as he joins high school teammate Jeff Jenkins along with Henry Geil, Tyrone Tracy, Dillon Doyle, and Tyler Linderbaum in Iowa’s Class of 2018.

See highlights from Evan’s junior year at Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge in the video below.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Very nice pick up! Speed, some power, shifty but always moving forward. Nice to see a ball carrier highlight video in which he actually broke some tackles!

Good offer list. And, he played with the big boys in Illinois. Like him!

 

[kceasthawk]

YES! And he had an offer from those pesky dirt diggers as well! All the more reason to rejoice!

 

[Oldgold51]

Pro Tip: Do NOT cut your hair!

 

[DodgerHawki]

YES! And he had an offer from those pesky dirt diggers as well! All the more reason to rejoice!

I thought the narrative was that going forward we were going to never win a recruit who had offers from Iowa State or Minnesota again? Must be mistaken.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I thought the narrative was that going forward we were going to never win a recruit who had offers from Iowa State or Minnesota again? Must be mistaken.

Or Illinois, once Lovey got rolling.

 

[cmhawks99]

I thought the narrative was that going forward we were going to never win a recruit who had offers from Iowa State or Minnesota again? Must be mistaken.

Look out here they come, there are number of guys on here that really don't like it when you make continual digs at them, they only like it when they do it.

 

[HoundedHawk]

That guy does not go down easy. Elite balance.

 

[Hawk68]

Damn, I guess the coaches know best, but he ought to have a try at being a dual-option QB. Bootlegs, options and draws would really look nice.

 

[cocoem]

Damn, I guess the coaches know best, but he ought to have a try at being a dual-option QB. Bootlegs, options and draws would really look nice.

You do realize it is 2017 and college football right? Love the option game in high school because kids are football stupid, but in the big time football world it isn't a good "option"

 

[Banks Fan]

No offer from jNW? Does he have any passing statistics? Can he throw a football? If not, first choice has to be WR. Maybe a future safety and punt returner?

 

[pacnorthhawkeye]

One would think Lovie smiths days are numbered losing the top players in state to Minnie and Iowa.....

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

The kid is somewhere between a Jeff Tarpinian and an Ed Hinkel. The coaches liked Ed at safety ... but he was just too automatic at WR (so the position stuck). Samson doesn't have Tarpinian's size ... but he has much of that same athleticism.

Anyhow, I'm very excited ... very nice recruiting "get." Guys like Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette are clearly more "outside" guys. Furthermore, Marchesse is more like a Hillyer guy - so he's a little bit more likely to be on the outside too. So now we're in need of more inside guys ... and guys like Evans and Tracey really fit that bill.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Another potential element of Samson Evans commitment is that the Hawks will probably land Shane Evans as a transfer or a walk-on. That is potentially a bit positive because it will help bolster the depth of our OL.

 

[win1forthe]

Excellent news. Have seen him play multiple times. Very talented, great instincts, just get the feeling he'll be successful whatever position he plays. Yes, he can throw the ball, but honestly, they never really needed to.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Someone posted that "he played with the big boys in Illinois." Granted, he is a talented player, but last time I looked, Crystal Lake is a relatively small town that plays on about the upper 3A, lower 4A level in Iowa. (I have relatives who played for the school). A lot of good players do come out of the area, and I believe a nearby team, Woodstock, that played the Crystal Lake teams, produced Bryan Bulaga who starred at Iowa, and also a pretty good quarterback. Who can name him? (It's not Chuck Long, who played at suburban Wheaton North, abut 25 miles south.

 

[cmhawks99]

I believe Praire Ridge is 6A at the time and routinely competes on equal footing with both 7 & 8A !

 

[DaCDiggity]

Someone posted that "he played with the big boys in Illinois." Granted, he is a talented player, but last time I looked, Crystal Lake is a relatively small town that plays on about the upper 3A, lower 4A level in Iowa. (I have relatives who played for the school). A lot of good players do come out of the area, and I believe a nearby team, Woodstock, that played the Crystal Lake teams, produced Bryan Bulaga who starred at Iowa, and also a pretty good quarterback. Who can name him? (It's not Chuck Long, who played at suburban Wheaton North, abut 25 miles south.

Chuck #2?

 

[Johnsoda123]

Someone posted that "he played with the big boys in Illinois." Granted, he is a talented player, but last time I looked, Crystal Lake is a relatively small town that plays on about the upper 3A, lower 4A level in Iowa. (I have relatives who played for the school). A lot of good players do come out of the area, and I believe a nearby team, Woodstock, that played the Crystal Lake teams, produced Bryan Bulaga who starred at Iowa, and also a pretty good quarterback. Who can name him? (It's not Chuck Long, who played at suburban Wheaton North, abut 25 miles south.

Nah. 1500 enrollment would be 5A in Iowa.

 

[meatloaf55]

Good get seems like a stud

 

[MNHawkTC]

And Crystal Lake is over 40k people. Not a "small town"

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Someone posted that "he played with the big boys in Illinois." Granted, he is a talented player, but last time I looked, Crystal Lake is a relatively small town that plays on about the upper 3A, lower 4A level in Iowa. (I have relatives who played for the school). A lot of good players do come out of the area, and I believe a nearby team, Woodstock, that played the Crystal Lake teams, produced Bryan Bulaga who starred at Iowa, and also a pretty good quarterback. Who can name him? (It's not Chuck Long, who played at suburban Wheaton North, abut 25 miles south.

I said that. I had no idea Illinois has 8 classes!

 

[millah_22]

 

[Hawkdroppings]

Appears to be a solid recruit.....Comgrats!

 

[Ford26]

Damn, I guess the coaches know best, but he ought to have a try at being a dual-option QB. Bootlegs, options and draws would really look nice.

But he is most definitely NOT a dual option QB. He was only another RB in his high school offense. He barely ever passed. Very good athlete, but not a college Qb

 

[cmhawks99]

Next year they start with Cary-Grove which is always a power and I believe 7A if memory serves and then they play Huntley & they are also a power who lost last year in the 8As semi finals to Loyola Academy.

 

[JoelBittner]

I thought the narrative was that going forward we were going to never win a recruit who had offers from Iowa State or Minnesota again? Must be mistaken.

I think we've proved with this get and the 5 others we can out-recruit 99% of the P5 programs.

 

[Central18]

#77 lineman looked good as well!

 

[dbrocket]

Looks like a safety to me. Not a lot of lateral movement in his highlights. Looks more straight-line.

 

[Blair Sanderson]

Looks like a safety to me. Not a lot of lateral movement in his highlights. Looks more straight-line.

His shuttle time is good though. SPARQ numbers pretty similar to Oliver Martin's a year ago.

Oliver Martin, Chicago Opening 2016
6-0.5
188 lbs
4.65 forty
4.15 shuttle
37.8" vertical
38' powerball toss

112.62 SPARQ

---

Samson Evans, Chicago Opening 2017
5-11.5
200 lbs
4.65 forty
4.20 shuttle
35.5" vertical
40.5' powerball toss

116.10 SPARQ

 

[cmhawks99]

His shuttle time is good though. SPARQ numbers pretty similar to Oliver Martin's a year ago.

Oliver Martin, Chicago Opening 2016
6-0.5
188 lbs
4.65 forty
4.15 shuttle
37.8" vertical
38' powerball toss

112.62 SPARQ

---

Samson Evans, Chicago Opening 2017
5-11.5
200 lbs
4.65 forty
4.20 shuttle
35.5" vertical
40.5' powerball toss

116.10 SPARQ

I guess I never paid that close of attention to Oliver Martin's speed numbers a...4.65, 40 yard dash.... I can't believe everybody was up in arms about losing him that's way too slow for a high-quality wide receiver..

 

[kimaniismyffriend]

I think we've proved with this get and the 5 others we can out-recruit 99% of the P5 programs.

 

[JoelBittner]

I guess I never paid that close of attention to Oliver Martin's speed numbers a...4.65, 40 yard dash.... I can't believe everybody was up in arms about losing him that's way too slow for a high-quality wide receiver..

Would you please stop insulting the Iowa staff's decision to extend an offer to Martin. Your anti-KF agenda is getting tiresome.

 

[cocoem]

Looks like a safety to me. Not a lot of lateral movement in his highlights. Looks more straight-line.

SMH

 

[cocoem]

His shuttle time is good though. SPARQ numbers pretty similar to Oliver Martin's a year ago.

Oliver Martin, Chicago Opening 2016
6-0.5
188 lbs
4.65 forty
4.15 shuttle
37.8" vertical
38' powerball toss

112.62 SPARQ

---

Samson Evans, Chicago Opening 2017
5-11.5
200 lbs
4.65 forty
4.20 shuttle
35.5" vertical
40.5' powerball toss

116.10 SPARQ

Facts Blair.....FACTS! You know that those are not allowed on here. That will only mess up the movies in some of these guys heads!

 

[TheGuy9]

Next year they start with Cary-Grove which is always a power and I believe 7A if memory serves and then they play Huntley & they are also a power who lost last year in the 8As semi finals to Loyola Academy.

In football, Illinois does not decide your class until the end of the season. They take the 256 teams with the most wins and then they break them into 8 classes of 32 based on enrollment. It is not uncommon for a school, particularly in the middle enrollment area to play in a different class from year to year. Biggest schools and smallest schools usually don't see much change in class but classes 4,5,and 6 tend to see schools moving up and down quite a bit.
The one thing I really don't like about this set up is that because so many schools are accepted, that you occasionally get teams with losing records in the playoffs. Also doesn't matter if you are a school with 1500 students playing a school with 4000 students. You get no credit for playing the bigger schools which because of conferences happens all the time.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Seeing kids like this (Samson Evans) ... and hearing interviews with Brandon Smith ... I'm really impressed with the quality of human beings the coaching staff recruits to come play football for the University of Iowa.

I've always admired us for not only recruiting good football players ... but more important ... good human beings ... I get it when I read it ... so many of these kids say what attracted them to Iowa was the family atmosphere ... Iowa takes its time with recruiting ... It doesn't flippantly toss out offers like darts and "hope" some of them stick.

Welcome to Samson Evans!

 

[Ree4]

Appears to have really good vision and shiftiness with good balance. Granted a lot of the guys he was going against seemed to have no idea how to tackle.

Welcome!

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Hawk Central says he's 5' 11.5" vs. the above at 6' 1". There are some places where 1.5" is important - WR is one of them!

 

[ichawk24]

Someone posted that "he played with the big boys in Illinois." Granted, he is a talented player, but last time I looked, Crystal Lake is a relatively small town that plays on about the upper 3A, lower 4A level in Iowa. (I have relatives who played for the school). A lot of good players do come out of the area, and I believe a nearby team, Woodstock, that played the Crystal Lake teams, produced Bryan Bulaga who starred at Iowa, and also a pretty good quarterback. Who can name him? (It's not Chuck Long, who played at suburban Wheaton North, abut 25 miles south.

CJ Fiedorowicz played at nearby Johnsburg.