When a 5-star prospect hits campus, the expectation is typically that they’ll be able to contribute immediately.
Those prospects are the most recruited out of high school, with coaches always coming to their games and inviting them to campus for a taste of the college game day experience.
UNC defensive lineman Desmond Evans is one of those 5-star players. He was the Class of 2020 top-ranked North Carolina high school player, plus the country’s overall top defensive end.
It appeared the Tar Heels finally found that defensive line difference-maker they’d been searching for since Julius Peppers.
Evans produces when on the field, but nowhere close to the numbers of a former 5-star. He has just two sacks and 65 tackles (seven for loss) over four years.
This season, however, Evans feels he’s finally playing up to his billing.
“I’ve got a tattoo on my shoulder right here, Luke 12:48, and it basically says, ‘to whom much is given, much is required,’ ” Evans told Inside Carolina’s Evan Rogers. “So I’ve got to produce at a high level. It ain’t nothing wrong with it. It’s just the way it is.”
Evans’ in-game performance backs up his word. He already has a sack (season-opener against South Carolina), 12 tackles (second-most among defensive linemen) and two pass breakups (tied for third on team). He was a lone bright spot on defense in the App State matchup, tying a career-best with six tackles.
“For two weeks in a row, Des Evans has played great,” Mack Brown told Inside Carolina. “He was the player of the game defensively (against App State). He’s playing with a high motor, he’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
Evans’ improvement also caught the eye of his defensive coordinator, Gene Chizik.
“I feel like he has a completely different understanding of his best attributes as a pass rusher,” Chizik told InsideCarolina. “He totally understands more so than he did last year on what he’s best at. Pass rushers don’t have six things they’re great at. They get good at one or two things, and they usually have a counter off that which I think he’s starting to feel.”
Evans and his Tar Heel teammates enjoy an off week this weekend before hosting Syracuse, when the Orange come to town on Saturday, Oct. 7 for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
It’s enjoyable to see Evans producing on a unit that’s struggled immensely in recent years.
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