Exclusive NFL Draft Interview: TE Datyran Evans, Friends University

To many NFL experts and draft guru’s, Datryan Evans is just a name on the NFL’s official underclassman declaration list. His name on the list looks almost like a typo, while his college looks like someone made a mistake with the word “Friends” sitting there like a poor, sour joke.

Datryan Evans isn’t a typo, however, and it’s truly amazing that Evans doesn’t have more draft hype following him right now. Standing at 6’5″ and 254 pounds, Datryan is a big man with a chip on his shoulder. His story is an incredible one. Upon learning of it myself, I wondered why it hadn’t received more attention and given Evans fame.

Datryan Evans isn’t that kind of a man. He has no desire to draw attention to himself unless, of course, it’s with what he is doing on the football field.
As I have been putting my draft prospectus together (Coming February 8th), I saw his name listed on the NFL’s eligable underclassman list. Assuming that Friends was a typo, I ran a quick google search and found his 247 Sports profile, where it listed him at Baylor University. Yup, I thought. It was just a typo.

I went to dive into his tape less than a week later, and couldn’t find any game tape of Evans at Baylor. Upon investigating a little deeper, I didn’t find his name in the 2018 Baylor statistics, nor was he anywhere to be found on the official roster. Strange.

All I could find was three highlight tapes on YouTube, all posted within the past couple of months, from a YouTube user under Datryan Evans. I watched all three of them, fascinated with the situation that I was failing to understand.

In the highlight tape was a phone number and an email address. I texted the number inquiring if it was Datryan Evans. Sure enough, it was. I spoke with him for some twelve minutes as I tried to understand the situation and why he wasn’t at Baylor.

Evans didn’t have a lot of hype coming out of high school. He didn’t have a single D1 offer, so he went the usual JUCO route. Upon arriving to Baylor, after participating through Spring training, he learned that his classes he had taken at Eastern Arizona would not transfer over to Baylor, and that he was intelligible to play football for the next year and a half.

I spoke with Evans again, this time for the website. Here is our conversation for you all to enjoy:

Interview with Datryan Evans

FPC: How did college scouts miss out on a prospect your size?

Datryan: Well, I was a Wide Receiver all throughout high school and just even growing up – period. In High school, I was 6’4 and in the 230’s. {I was} just a bigger receiver who could move very well. My senior year, I was introduced to the Tight End position because my coaches said that’s what I will play in college. D1’s had interest in me because of my size but never offered me because I didn’t have enough film at the position.

FPC: You went the JUCO route and played pretty well at Eastern Arizona. How did you get recruited to Baylor?

Datryan: My mentor, Odell James, is {a} Baylor Alumni, he played quarterback back in the day for them. He made a call to Shawn Bell and they were interested in me enough to offer me. {It was a} preferred walk-on deal.

FPC: Baylor didn’t work out. Academically, you would have been ineligible. What did you do when you found out?

Datryan: Well, I went home to my room and closed the door. I sat on bed in just disbelief and a little frustration. It was always my dream to go D1 and I was living my dream and then boom I get that news. It hurt, but I love the game and was so determined I just instantly got on Twitter and made a post saying “D1 transfer looking for a new home.” Then, from there, it was just a recruiting process all over again.

FPC: How did you come to make the decision to declare early for the NFL Draft?

Datyran: I have always been blessed with God given talent and size. I’ve always been pretty good at what I do on the football field and I just feel with my talent and some NFL coaching, I can be molded into a great NFL Tight End and help a team be successful.

FPC: For NFL Teams out there, what kind of a player are you bringing to an NFL team?

Datryan: I am bringing them a player who has talent receiving and blocking-wise. A player who knows the game and is willing to always learn more. A kid who works hard regardless if I am good at certain craft or needs to improve. Lastly a player who wants to be the best at his position and will do absolutely anything to get to that point!

FPC: What are you looking to improve upon during the pre-draft process?

Datryan: I want to improve everything because there is always room for improvement. The main focuses are being in the best athletic shape possible to crush my pro day, because with me being a NAIA player I have to WOW NFL scouts not just with my size but with numbers too. Also sharpening up route running and explosiveness off the line with blocking is a key point.

FPC: What do you hope to accomplish in your life outside of football?

Datryan: I will finish obtaining my degree in Physical education and hope to marry the love of my life and start a wonderful family.

The Final Scoop

Personally, I walked away very impressed with the professionalism that Datryan showed me, his willingness to play and passion for this game. He was a refreshing light on my day.

Datryan told me everything that I had hoped to hear, both times that I spoke with him. He certainly has a new fan in me, and I hope he can gain new fans in all of you too.