Blog

Ethan Evans Scouting Report: D2’s Top Draft Prospect?

Ethan Evans Scouting Report: D2’s Top Draft Prospect?

Ethan Evans, Punter, Wingate University (Division 2)

Ethan Evans may be a punter, but he also has a real chance to be the top rated Division 2 prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft.

After debuting in my top 5 punter rankings, Evans currently sits as my 4th ranked punter. And I’m liking him more every time I watch.

I wanted to write up a formal Ethan Evans scouting report because he’s a sleeper who just keeps adding to his draft resume.

Read on for a description of his background, steps he’s taken during the draft process, strengths and weaknesses, along with a draft projection.

 

Ethan Evans Background

Ethan Evans was an unranked high school recruit out of North Carolina.

Many punters will begin their careers as recommended walk-ons, and Evans received walk-on offers from a few local D1 schools. He decided instead to attend Wingate University, a small Division 2 school, as they were the only school to offer him a full scholarship.

Despite being primarily a placekicker when he committed, Evans was immediately named the starting punter and kickoff specialist as a true freshman in 2019.

While his freshman season wasn’t great, it was very respectable considering his minimal punting experience. Evans averaged just over 40.0 yards per punt, with an impressive ratio of 23 inside-20 punts and only 2 touchbacks.

After a shortened season in 2020 where he only got to play 4 games, he had a good 2021 campaign where he was named 1st team All-Conference. Evans averaged a respectable 42.6 yards per punt, including a long of 72 yards. 22 of his 36 punts that season were downed inside the 20 yard line, one of the best ratios I’ve ever seen (to be fair, this is highly dependent on how far down the field the offense moves them before punting).

This past season was a big one for Evans. While Wingate put together a program record 11-win season, Evans put together another 1st team All-Conference performance.

This time, he averaged 45.7 yards per punt. 30 of his 77 punts traveled 50+ yards, and he had 39 punts that were downed inside the 20 yard line, leading D2. Evans was also in the top 3 of D2 football in both gross and net punting average each of the past two seasons.

Along with his excellent punting, Evans was the starting placekicker and kickoff specialist, where he launched touchbacks on an impressive 66% of his kicks. This put him in line with some of the top kickoff specialists at the placekicker position.

All reports I’ve seen about Evans have spoken highly of his character and work ethic, and the film has gotten more consistent every year.

He can still work to improve his control of the ball, but improvement has been visible particularly on his directional kicks. Meanwhile he has very good leg strength, capable of generating more than enough hang time and distance to maintain an NFL career.

 

Draft Preparation

While Ethan Evans technically still has his extra year of eligibility (2020 didn’t toward eligibility), he’s entering the 2022 NFL Draft.

Evans accepted invites to both the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game, where he had the opportunity to perform in front of NFL scouts and coaches for all 32 teams.

He also participated in the 2023 Kohl’s Combine, hosted by Kohl’s Kicking Camps. Evans won the punting competition over other draft eligible punters such as Joe Doyle (Memphis) and Ty Zentner (Kansas State). The same punting competition last year included Ryan Wright and Ryan Stonehouse, who each had dominant rookies seasons in the NFL this past season.

The NFL Draft wasn’t the only time you needed an Ethan Evans scouting report, as he was highly sought after in the USFL Draft which took place February 21st.

Evans was drafted in the final round of the USFL draft by the Pittsburgh Maulers, being one of just 2 punters drafted. The other was Adam Korsak, who some view as the best punter in the class.

Being drafted into the USFL doesn’t affect his NFL stock, but it does give us an idea of how positively professional scouts view him.

 

Athletic Traits

Physical traits aren’t usually the first thing you wonder about when it comes to kickers or punters, but Ethan Evans stands out.

At 6’4″ 225 pounds, Evans is an impressive athlete who looks like he could play linebacker.

Evans reportedly has a 700 pound squat, 405 pound bench, 855 deadlift, along with a 39.5″ vertical.

 

 

Ethan Evans Strengths

  • Legitimate NFL leg strength: Evans has plenty of power to stick in the NFL, and can generate both hang time and depth on his kicks.
  • Athletic traits: Evans has an edge over other punters with his strength and physicality which can translate to punt coverage.
  • Consistent kickoff specialist: Placekickers usually serve as the kickoff specialist in the NFL, but having a punter with experience there is a major boost.
  • Experience as a field goal kicker: While placekicking isn’t his specialty, he served as the field goal kicker for Wingate in 2022 and made 10 field goals.
  • 4 year starter: Started all 4 seasons at Wingate, and has looked poised in high intensity situations.

 

Ethan Evans Weaknesses

  • Average accuracy: The placement of his punts isn’t particularly a weakness, but he’s more of a power-first punter than he is an accuracy-first punter.
  • Very limited experience as a holder: Evans wasn’t the holder as a senior, which is a traditional responsibility of NFL punters.
  • Hang time consistency: Evans could stand to improve his consistency with his hang time to increase fair catch rate.
  • Touchbacks: Although this was not entirely his fault, Evans had a very high touchback percentage this past season (13 touchbacks on 77 punts).

Ethan Evans Draft Projection

7th-PFA

It’s rare for a punter to be drafted before the 7th round, so being projected as a fringe 7th round to preferred free agent is fairly high praise for a punter.

Evans has a legitimate shot in the NFL, and will have the USFL to fall back on if the draft doesn’t fall in his favor.

There aren’t many D2 players who will have a legitimate chance to be drafted in 2023, but Evans is one them.

 

Have questions or comments about my Ethan Evans scouting report?  Feel free to leave a comment below!

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Close Menu