Another Iowa Hawkeye has inked his first professional football deal.
Iowa defensive end Joe Evans signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens. It’s a terrific landing spot with a franchise that just played the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Evans is another one of the great development success stories for the Hawkeyes. After arriving in Iowa City as a walk-on linebacker, Evans moved to defensive end and transformed into one of Iowa’s and the Big Ten’s best.
Evans was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the league’s media during the 2022 season and a third-team All-Big Ten choice by the league’s media in the 2023 season.
The 6-foot-2, 252 pound defensive end played in 56 games and started 27 during his Hawkeye career. Evans registered 135 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 28 sacks, six pass breakups and four forced fumbles as an Iowa Hawkeye.
Hawk turned Raven.@joe_evans7 is headed to Baltimore!#NFLHawks x @Ravens pic.twitter.com/eM0BweXXTj
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) April 28, 2024
Evans’ 13.5 tackles for loss and his 9.5 sacks both led Iowa during the 2023 season. The Ames, Iowa, native also tied defensive linemen Lukas Van Ness and Deontae Craig for the team-high in sacks with 6.5 during the 2022 campaign and Van Ness with seven in Iowa’s 2021 season.
“I think he’s really representative of the kind of guys we’re looking for… The guy’s got such a motor, such an attitude, and there’s so much to be said for that. I think that’s his best attribute. When he’s out there, he just goes hard,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of Evans back in November.
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