North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Evans never lost cool while clock ticked
9/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH Daniel Evans’ lower lip was quivering with nervousness. He didn’t really know what to say. His mouth was a little dry, and you could tell that the emotion of the moment was about to overwhelm him.
Fortunately for NC State Saturday night, that was the way Evans was in his post-game interview with a phalanx of reporters following NC State’s Evans-led 17-15 upset of No. 20 Boston College, not the way he was in the huddle on the game-winning drive.
“I didn’t feel too nervous out there on the field,” he said, with a slight blush and smile.
Evans, making his first career start under center, didn’t have much time to be nervous on the field at sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium, following the interception he threw with three minutes remaining in the game.
But his defense got the Wolfpack the ball back with a four-play stand, stopping the Eagles on fourth-and-2 at the NC State 28-yard line, on a swarming tackle of fullback Brian Toal by linebackers Lerue Rumph and Pat Lowery.
Evans raced on the field with 46.5 seconds remaining. There were too many things to think about, the chief among them was to get a first down. And then another. And then another.
“I don’t think it could be a better situation, really,” Evans said. “Since I was six years old, I have come to just about every home football game here at Carter-Finley Stadium and dreamed about playing here, starting at quarterback for NC State.
“To not only start that game, and start a game that was on national television, in the ACC, on a Saturday night, it’s just amazing. I was just trying get into the end zone.”
Clearly, it was a story-book ending on Parents’ Day at Carter-Finley Stadium, with Evans’ dad, Johnny, in the radio booth calling the game for the Wolfpack Radio Network. Truth be told, the elder Evans was already trying to find a way to soften the results of the game and Daniel’s performance before the last drive, while still giving his analysis of the game.
“I believe you will see improvement from this point on,” Johnny Evans said with about a minute remaining in the game, summing up his son’s performance on the field.
At that point, however, no one knew that the Wolfpack would get the ball back, and that Daniel Evans’ biggest plays were still to come in the final possession.
So, as he has dreamed about ever since he was a kid, roaming the sidelines with his father and his twin brother Andrew, the sophomore quarterback did something special, just as he did so many times at Broughton High School, where, by his count, he led his team to seven fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victories.
“[Former NC State quarterback] Jay Davis said to me earlier this week, He has ice in his blood,’” Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato said. “He does, but it is red.”
He began the drive with an incomplete pass to freshman Donald Bowens. He threw the next pass to tight end Anthony Hill, an 18-yard completion that gave the Wolfpack hope and a first down.
Evans stopped the clock quickly by downing the ball at the line of scrimmage, then connected with John Dunlap on a beautiful 20-yard sideline route that put the Wolfpack onto the Eagles side of the field and stopped the clock with about 20 seconds to play.
On the next play, Dunlap was not the primary receiver, but he looked open as Evans scrambled around the pocket. He threw the ball off his back foot, but easily got it to the end zone, where Dunlap out-jumped Boston College cornerback DeJuan Tribble, bobbled the ball for a second, then landed on his back with the ball firmly in his hands.
The game officials reviewed the play to make sure catch was legit, and deemed it to be. And that began a wild celebration that could only come after such a story book ending.
“I really can’t explain it, other than I have had millions of people praying for me,” Evans said. “It’s just amazing.”
Evans’ teammates were also amazed that a young player could step into a difficult situation, with the Wolfpack on a two-game losing streak, and guide the team back to a last-second victory.
“I have never seen anything like it,” Dunlap said. “He was so poised and calm out there. I am going to have to take him out to eat [on Sunday].”
“It was like he was out playing in the backyard,” said tailback Andre Brown, who made a big splash with his first real opportunity to contribute last year when he rushed for 248 yards against Southern Mississippi. “I know he has a great pocket presence and that is what he came out and demonstrated. He just picked them apart on that last drive.
“That’s crazy.”
But in a poised way.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
