⚡ CFB Dashboard

The Utes run defense looked improved in game one. Yes, it was against an FCS foe, but there is reason for optimism that the turnaround will be legit, with Utah safety Rabbit Evans fully removed from his injury. Evans spoke with the media about his first game back from injury and his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with the Razorbacks. Question: How did it feel to be out there on Thursday? Evans: It felt amazing. You know, when we first came out, I was smiling, just soaking in the moment. It's been a while. It felt good to be out there with my teammates. Question: How'd that first tackle feel? Evans: Felt great. That was my first, like, open-field tackle in like a year or so. Just being able to feel that, it felt good. Question: You have that fumble recovery early in the game. Just what did you see when you were rushing that backfield? Evans: Shoot. I saw the quarterback go like this, and then it was like a cartoon. The ball just fell out of his hands, and it was right there in front of me. But yeah, luckily I was in the right place at the right time. Question: What's something you take pride in on or off the field? Just something you bring to the table that you take pride in. Evans: I would say just communication, you know, on the field, just being able to communicate the calls to my teammates, and off the field, just shoot. Yeah, communication. I don't know. That's a good question though. That's a great question. Question: What stands out to you about Arkansas? Evans: They're big, fast, strong. They're a well-coached team, so it's going to be good to compete against them for sure. Good test. Question: With this being such a blowout game last week, a lot of the younger guys got some time out on the field. Just what stood out about, you know, Nate Tilmon, Manny Fuller, Marcus Wimberly, those guys? Evans: Those guys were filling alleys fast. Like, it was good to see them coming down and tackling. It was good to see them just having fun out there. That's really the main thing, like just being able to go out there, have fun, playing free. So it was good to see that in the young guys. Question: How do you approach an aggressive game plan on the defensive side? Colton dials up the blitzes or whatever. How do you guys take that pride in knowing that you guys are that last line of defense in that scheme? Evans: You know, just watching film, just being able to understand and know what's going on, having a feel for what their offense is going to do. So, you know, film study and just communication, just preparing right with my teammates. Question: This defense asks a lot of you guys. How long did it take you to feel like you really mastered your role? You do so many different things while you're out there. So how long did it take us to master the role? Evans: Honestly, shoot, probably spring, really. Like, just being able to get those reps in spring, we were able to, like, be it because all 3 of us could play a lot of positions. Like, so it was just us being able to play nickel, safety, free safety, strong safety, just doing all those things in the spring, where it was great to have those reps under us. So I'll say spring.