Switch to tight end pays off for ASU's Evans

Through four years of being lost on Arizona State’s depth chart, Wes Evans never lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Two weeks ago, the senior finally exited the tunnel, stepping out into a sun-splashed afternoon at one of college football’s most hallowed grounds. Evans made his first start for the Sun Devils in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against Southern California, where his father played.

This was Evans’ reward for the seemingly endless practices, the brief moments of discouragement over his paucity of playing time. Few others on ASU’s roster have paid more dues.

“It was unbelievable,” Evans said. “I had a flood of emotions because I was playing on the field that my dad played on. I couldn’t explain what was going through my head, to see that light at the end of the tunnel after four years of work, to get in there and help the team, I couldn’t have been happier.”

After finding roadblocks at defensive end, Evans’ path to redemption began midway through last season, when he moved to tight end. During fall camp, he emerged as an effective lead-blocking option in goal-line situations.

With the Sun Devils using a two-tight end offense more during the last two weeks in hopes of finding a running game, Evans’ blocking skills have gotten him on the field.

“He’s done whatever we’ve asked him to do,” coach Dennis Erickson said.

Lost in the overall offensive woes at USC — the Sun Devils lost, 28-0 — was the fact that, especially from the two-TE look, there was some production from a running game that ranks third-worst in the nation. The running backs combined for 124 yards on 30 carries, with Evans’ blocking one reason.

That had his father, Ken, a 1977 graduate of USC, where he played offensive line before serving one year as an assistant coach, beaming.

“Sometimes, the struggle is what makes the reward so much more attractive,” said Ken Evans, now a captain for Alaska Airlines. “Sports is a lot like life. I told my kids that they could persevere or punt. He didn’t quit. He stayed in there and worked as hard as he could. …

“It was great to see him plow into a USC defender on one of the first plays and put him on his back. It was a little piece of heaven for me.”

During the first half of the 2007 season, Wes confided often with his father as his frustration over not playing at defensive end grew.

“It was definitely discouraging,” Wes said. “The thought crossed my mind once or twice, but I never tried to let it stick there long. Once you get there, you’ll stay where you are. But it was tough, especially last year. …

“But I never thought about (quitting). I love the game too much, and I wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to get a degree just because I was discouraged about football.”

Evans, a standout tight end in high school, decided to, as his father put it, “re-recruit” himself.

He accepted the move and reacquainted himself with the tight end spot. He ended up appearing in one game last year, the Holiday Bowl against Texas.

“You talk about hard work, persistence, studying the game and waiting for your chance to play, that’s Wes,” tight ends coach Dan Cozzetto said. “That guy could have easily wrote it all off and just stayed on the sidelines and finished his career up. But he kept working and working, and now, he’s one of our key guys.”

After college, Evans figures to move from the gridiron to the race track.

Last year, he and former ASU defensive back Brett Nenaber tried out for the Pit Bull Racing Team’s pit crew. Nenaber was hired to work behind the wall for NASCAR Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger, and Evans has been invited to join the team.

For now, though, Evans has six, maybe seven, games left in his football redemption, and he plans to treasure every play.

“I’m going to build on what I’ve done and be unselfish,” Evans said. “I’m going to take on each block they ask me to and not refuse a hit.”