Ethan Gray Evans (born July 19, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

punter for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Wingate Bulldogs and was selected in the seventh round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

by the Rams.

Early life

Evans was born on July 19, 2001, in

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676. As of 2020, the city is the most populous municipality in Surry County. Mount Airy is located within t ...

, and grew up there. He attended North Surry High School and played

and track, additionally being a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

. He set several school kicking records, including for longest made

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

(51 yards), most career field goals (17) and most career

extra points The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

(77). He twice was named the Western Piedmont 2A Conference Specialist of the Year and was invited to the state's East–West All-Star Game after graduating, becoming the first North Surry player to participate in the event in 23 years and only the eighth overall. Evans committed to play

for the Division II Wingate Bulldogs.

College career

Evans ended up becoming one of the all-time best special teams players at Wingate, in his stint spanning from the 2019 season to 2022. He was their starting punter and handled kickoff duties in all four seasons, additionally handling field goals and extra points as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. Evans had his best season as a

, posting 67 kickoffs for 4,180 yards with a 62.4 average and 44

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

s, and 77 punts for 3,518 yards, averaging 45.69 yards per punt, a total that ranked second-best in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division II. He additionally had 39 punts inside the 20 and 30 that went more than 50 yards, and went 10-for-18 on field goals with a long of 41, as well as 43-of-44 on extra points. Evans twice was named the national player of the week by D2Football.com and was named first-team all-conference, all-region, and a D2CCA first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He also was named first-team All-American by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP), being one of three Wingate players to earn the honor that year. Evans finished his career at Wingate having appeared in 39 games and made 186 punts for 8,027 yards (averaging 43.2 yards per punt) with a long of 72 yards. He had 47 fair catches, 53 punts of more than 50 yards and 89 inside the 20-yard line. Additionally, on kickoffs, he posted 213 kicks for 13,230 yards (an average of 62.1) with 120 touchbacks. Evans was invited to the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first s ...

and was also one of only four Division II players to be chosen for the

East–West Shrine Bowl The East–West Shrine Bowl is a postseason college football all-star game that has been played annually since 1925; through January 2019, it was known as the East–West Shrine Game. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners Inter ...

in 2023.

Professional career

Evans was selected in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the

by the

, being the highest-selected Division II player in that draft and only the second Wingate Bulldog to ever be drafted. He was also chosen in the tenth round (73rd overall) of the 2023 USFL draft by the Pittsburgh Maulers. In Week 11 of the 2023 season, Evans was named

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...

Special Teams Player of the Week, the first Ram to be awarded a player of the week recognition in the season. In the 2023 season, Evans had 63 punts for 3,101 yards for a 49.22 average. In the 2024 season, he had 55 punts for 2,530 for a 46.0 average.

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bioWingate Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Ethan 2001 births Living people Wingate Bulldogs football players American football punters American football placekickers People from Mount Airy, North Carolina Sportspeople from Surry County, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Los Angeles Rams players