Over the last two years of his four at Notre Dame, Evans picked up 72 receptions for 843 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 12.2 yards per catch during that time. Now, he brings that production to Charlotte, where he found a playbook that he feels is tailor-made for his skill set.
“I think we’re very versatile, you know, we do a lot in this offense,” Evans said. “We’re not just blocking, we’re not just pass catching, we’re doing it at all. There are a lot of different moving elements to this offense. It’s very complex in a good way, and I think we do it all, so this is a very good offense to be a tight end.”
And a tight end, Evans will be, but he brings a background as a quarterback to the position. He was a passer in high school before a back injury that kept him from twisting to throw too much forced him into tight end his junior year. Despite returning to quarterback as a senior, his tape was enough to draw the attention of colleges.
While at Notre Dame, he was used—albeit sparingly, but at times—as a quarterback on sneaks and short-yardage plays. Following Friday’s practice, Canales had the 40-plus participants in rookie minicamp separate into offense and defense to test their ability on the QB accuracy net drill.
“I got to say, (Mitch) made the only one of the whole group,” shared Canales. “We’re excited about Mitch; he’s a fantastic athlete.”