University of Richmond Athletics
Captain's Choice: Thomas Evans - Under The Radar
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Offensive lineman Thomas Evans is one of the more under-the-radar guys when looking from the outside at the Richmond football program but when speaking to those inside it, Evans is seen as an essential piece to the success of the team both on and off the field.
Evans is now a two-time captain along with one of his good friends from the other side of the ball, LB Omar Howard, and anchored an offensive line that helped the Spiders gain 2,673 yards on the ground and throw for 3,653 more en route to a semifinal berth in the FCS Playoffs a season ago. He earned All-CAA Second Team honors at the end of the regular season.
To go with his accolades on the field Evans is as accomplished as any Spider in the program’s history in the weight room where he holds multiple records. He is also the vocal leader of the team so his captaincy should come as no surprise, but you wouldn’t know that by asking Evans himself.
“I was surprised to be named a captain last year but that’s a role that I’ve had on teams in the past, when I was younger,” Evans said. “Coming in I thought I had the capability but I was never of the mindset that I would be a captain for sure. It just kind of happened.”
When asked how he became such a vocal leader the redshirt-senior had a pretty good explanation and even went so far as to cite sources.
“Apparently I’ve always been loud, according to what my mom tells me, even at a young age,” Evans continued. “I just try to use my loud voice in a positive manner. It probably sounds like random stuff most of the time but I have the words in my head even though it might not actually sound like it most of the time.”
When we profiled Omar Howard we discussed how different position groups usually stick to their own but that a unique housing situation allowed these two guys from different sides of the ball to come together a form a bond. Here is that story from Evans’ perspective.
“Myself and my roommate from my sophomore year were looking into getting an apartment and Omar (Howard) and James (Pavik) happened to live below us. We were looking for two more people so we could get a nicer apartment and it kind of worked out that Omar and James were looking too. I’m not so sure they wanted to move in with us at first but we convinced them and it has worked out for the better because we’ve all become more unified because of it. We spend a lot of time together, sitting around and playing some X-BOX.”
During Howard’s interview he insisted that Evans is the preferred chef when meal time roles around. Evans coined Howard as the “worst chef” and was not shy about sharing his talents for the culinary.
“Honestly they just let me go at it and if I need help with a small task, like cutting up and onion or something like that I’ll throw it to them, but usually I just take charge,” Evans said of getting help from his roommates. “I like to make pulled pork, that’s pretty easy but I’ve been playing around a little bit, I have a little smoker that I’ve been playing around with some barbecue there. I really don’t make anything healthy, which is bad, but I like to make burgers, streaks, brats, mac and cheese and buffalo chicken dip but my best is still probably pulled pork.”
When he isn’t cooking his meals Evans can often be found trying to catch his meals. Having grown up in the shadows of the Smoky Mountains in Franklin, N.C. Evans is no stranger to day spent fishing but hasn’t had much luck in the Richmond area as he puts it.
“In my free time I like to go fishing. I haven’t had much luck finding many good spots in Richmond. I don’t know if I’m just a bad Richmond fisherman but I haven’t had a whole lot of luck here. When I go back home I kill it.”
He went on to explain just why it all changes when he returns home.
“I live right on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and there is a town called Silva and the Tuckasegee River runs through there where I believe I saw a survey once that said there are about 31,000 trout that run within a mile radius of the river. So it’s hard not to catch something out there.”
With every fisherman there is always a tale of that big catch.
“I had a huge fish that got away before I could measure it but before I came out to Richmond I went to visit my uncle out in Montana and I caught a 20-inch Rainbow Trout. It was perfect, when I was reeling it in it jumped up like 20 feet in the air and it crossed in front of the setting sun. That picture is just imprinted in my head. It would be a perfect postcard picture.”
While it can be a solitary activity for Evans he doesn’t mind sharing the experience with his teammates.
“I tried to get these guys into fishing, Omar and Pavik won’t go with me but some of the younger guys like Blane (Markham) and Alex (Light) will go with me a lot of the time.”
Through it all Thomas see big things in the future for this program and the team that it will put on the field this fall.
“The obvious goal is to win a national championship but I think this summer will be huge for us if we can come together and mature and just get after it with coach Stewert. I think we have a chance to be really something great. I’m going to try and help the younger guys to raise that maturity level and I think we have the leaders to do it. It’s a day-to-day process, focusing on every single day. You should always have an end goal in mind but you have to make the days count rather than count the days.”