This is from nthree weeks ago.
By David Friedlander
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
KENNESAW - With the rise in popularity of fantasy football, fans throughout the country have come to have new appreciation for players who score touchdowns.
Kansas City's Priest Holmes, Seattle's Shaun Alexander and San Diego's LaDanian Tomlinson, as a result, have become hot properties in most fantasy drafts.
While there is no fantasy league for Cobb County high school football, Harrison's Tyler Evans could be a wise first pick.
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The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Hoyas senior is tied with Kell running back Jonathan Dwyer for the county lead with 10 touchdowns - though Evans has done so in one fewer game. And, even he is hard-pressed to explain the nose for the end zone he has developed.
"It's something you shoot for every time you get the ball," Evans said. "But it's just the way plays have happened to end up."
While his scoring prowess has been exceptional, he hardly lives up to the catch phrase, "All he does is score touchdowns," as he has combined for 407 yards of total offense in just four games this season.
It's not just the number of touchdowns Evans has scored. His value also rises from how many different ways he has found the end zone.
Five have come on the ground, mostly in short-yardage situations. Three more have come through the air - all on big plays of 21 yards or more. The final two came on a pair of long punt returns.
"Players make plays," Harrison coach Bruce Cobleigh said. "Good players make good plays. Great players make great plays. Tyler makes great plays.
"He can run back kicks and punts. He can run it in or catch passes as a tailback or fullback out of the backfield. He can line up as a wideout. He's kind of like (Marietta's Ghervon) Blue. It's like, 'Where couldn't he play?' They're very similar in that respect."
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With Evans demonstrating he is capable of reaching the end zone any time he touches the ball no matter what the circumstances, he has forced Harrison's opponents to keep an eye out for him on every snap this season.
But he hasn't always garnered that kind of attention despite a solid career that has seen him gain playing time since his freshman season, including posting 1,011 total yards and eight touchdowns a year ago.
Part of the reason may be because opponents still don't fully realize the blazing speed Evans - who has been clocked at 4.43 in the 40-yard dash - possesses, particularly with it packed into his smallish frame.
"I guess it wouldn't be expected just looking at me," Evans said. "But I've had some really good speed and track workouts the last few years. So, hopefully, teams won't be ready for it, and I can sneak one past them."
Another problem Evans has had to overcome is simply staying healthy. He's endured surgeries on both shoulders and a nagging foot injury that have limited his playing time the last two seasons.
"Tyler's been injured so much, or else he'd have played in every game since he was a freshman," Cobleigh said.
However, he has been relatively healthy this year, even though he sat out last week's 45-7 Hoyas win over Sprayberry to rest some bumps and bruises.
And Evans has also had to play in the shadows of some formidable big-play threats in the past, such as Paul Oliver, Jason Evans and Justin Boyle, plus his older brother Chris Evans, who led the Hoyas to 21 wins in two seasons as quarterback, including a berth in the 2002 Class AAAAA state quarterfinals.
But he is starting to open some eyes, including recruiters from such colleges as Stanford, Villanova, Furman, Duke, Tulane, Northwestern and Vanderbilt.
And he will get a chance to raise even more eyebrows tonight against Marietta as he will have a chance to occasionally go head-to-head with Blue, who is also recognized as one the state's top big-play threats.
It's an opportunity Evans says he relishes.
"It's a good opportunity to play against a (top) opponent," Evans said. "When you play against someone good, it sometimes brings out the best in you. It's going to be fun."
Edited by: white tornado 