🏈 A tradition of success: Alabama linebacker & Enterprise legend share Enterprise-Auburn connection

[JoshB]

EHS Year Book Photo.

Alan Evans (44) was a Parade All-American at Enterprise High School.

Posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 8:21 am

By Josh Boutwell
Ledger staff writer

Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans has more of a connection to Enterprise than simply playing against the Wildcats while he was a star linebacker for Auburn High.

Rashaan’s father, Alan Evans, was a Parade All-American running back for EHS in the 1980’s and was a key member of the Wildcats’ 1979 4A State Championship team.

Evans grew up in Enterprise, attending Hillcrest Elementary and Dauphin Junior High before becoming a star for the Wildcats.

“I grew up going to school at Hillcrest Elementary, right beside the old Enterprise High School,” Alan said. “I remember in my younger years going to the Enterprise High football games on Friday nights, watching the Wildcats run down that ramp in a single file line. It just made me want to become a football player myself.”

According to Alan, watching star Enterprise players like all-state player Rob Thompson is what led him to football, and to those that saw a young Alan Evans play football it was pretty clear early on he would be very good.

“The first time I saw him was at Dauphin Junior High,” Enterprise Ledger columnist Ricky Adams said of seeing a young Alan play. “You could tell right then he had a unique, smooth style of running like a Gale Sayers type of player. He was just real quick. You knew he was going to be special.”

Evans ran for more than 3,100 yards at Enterprise as well as being named to the Parade All-America team in 1981, and earned a scholarship to play football at Auburn University.

“My sophomore year we won the state championship in 1979," Alan said. "That was probably one of the highlights of my high school career. I remember so vividly my junior year having a really, really huge year. I scored a lot of touchdowns and became one of the top running backs in the state.”

Alan was also one of the top running back prospects in the country and he chose Auburn over Alabama and legendary head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

“Bear Bryant came down to Enterprise and visited the school and came to my house,” Alan said. “It was just a wonderful time going through that process and having an opportunity to help the Wildcats win a lot of football games during that time.”

Hall of fame running back Bo Jackson also signed with Auburn the same year as Alan and Jackson’s instant success caused Alan to play mostly on special teams his first two years at Auburn.

Later, he married another Auburn graduate, Chenavis, and the two raised their family in Auburn.

Years later, Alan’s son, Rashaan, also became a Parade All-American at Auburn High School as one of the top linebackers in the country. Nearly every college in the nation was after an Evans again, including Auburn.

“Rashaan played at Auburn High and became a five-star recruit,” Alan said. “I always wanted him to follow in my footsteps and not only has he done that but he exceeded all of my expectations.”

This time, however, an Evans selected Auburn’s rival, Alabama.

The hate and vitriol that the Evans family felt from supporters of the Auburn program was staggering. There was even a call for a boycott of the convenient store that Alan owned.

Grown men were screaming at the kid that helped Auburn High School make it to the 2013 7A State Championship for the first time in school history.

“The Auburn people really, really wanted him and it was just one of those things where he wanted to go where he wanted to go,” Alan said. “Alabama’s defense suited him a lot better than Auburn’s and I think that was the defining reason for why he chose Alabama.”

Regardless of the backlash Rashaan felt, he became a quick contributor to the Crimson Tide as a freshman in 2014, starting out as a special teams player, like his father at Auburn, but moving into the linebacker rotation by the end of the year.

In 2015, Rashaan continued to progress and contribute more on defense until the BCS National Championship Game against Clemson, when Rashaan had the best game of his career thus far.

He recorded three tackles, all of them behind the line of scrimmage, and two sacks on Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson.

One of the key moments in the game was the decision by Alabama head coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to move Evans from his usual spot as an outside linebacker, inside to spy on Watson.

Rashaan’s speed gave the Tide a chance to slow down Watson for the first time in the game and help the Alabama offense take control of the game and the National Championship.

“I feel pretty good about his decision," Alan said. "He’s had some growing pains at Alabama but he would have had some going anywhere else too. And those championship rings take away all of those growing pains.”

Continued reading: A tradition of success: Former Enterprise great and son share EHS-Auburn connection