Max Evans is an experienced fifth-year defensive lineman for the ETSU Buccaneers, closing out his college years with an impressive line of accomplishments.
Evans started playing football at 7 when his dad put him in flag football.
“My dad ignited the fire in me to start playing. He’s the guy I call before every game, after every game – good practice, bad practice, he’s my guy,” he shared.
Evans came to ETSU from Middletown, Ohio, where he graduated from Madison High in 2019 as a three-sport athlete, lettering in football, wrestling and track.
Evans recounts his favorite memory from his high school career.
“I come from a really small high school, and we had never made the playoffs before. In my junior year, we went to playoffs, and in the first round, we won in the last three seconds of the game. It’s one of the best days ever,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Evans had no plans to go to college unless he was playing the sport he loved: football.
“My senior year of high school, Coach Taylor came up and got me. He saw something in me, and I feel like I owe that man the world. He was able to give me an education, an opportunity to come here and change my life,” Evans said in response to why he chose ETSU.
Evans is a three-time feature on the SoCon All-Academic Team, was named to three SoCon Honor Rolls, and was a member of the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2020.
During his time at ETSU, two games have stood out to him as the best memories he has made.
“Kennesaw State, my junior year, this was the first playoff game I ever played in, and it was a career game for me. My whole family and all my friends were there, and we beat them in the last 14 seconds of the game. It was one of the most fun moments,” said Evans. “Secondly, the Mercer game – they missed the field goal, and we froze them at the end. We were doing backflips and jumping around, fans stormed the field, it was beautiful.”
Going into the 2023-24 season, Max Evans looks to be one of the leading defenders on the Bucs defensive line. So far, Evans has recorded 87 tackles in 29 games as a starter.
“My biggest goal is to be a good teammate to these guys – we have a lot of young guys. If I can leave them with anything, I want to show them how to lead a team eventually when they get there, how to play ball the right way, how to play fast and play hard. I want to be the best leader and teammate I can be,” concluded Evans.
