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Arriving in Salt Lake City from Blinn College in Brenham, Texas last summer, it took a minute for Utah safety Rabbit Evans to learn Morgan Scalley’s defense and get comfortable with his role in it.
Evans saw time during early-season games against Southern Utah and Utah State in 2024, starting against the Aggies, and making four tackles.
After that, besides starting and playing 45 snaps in Utah’s Week 7 game against Arizona State (nine tackles), Evans wasn’t a huge part of the safety rotation, with the majority of the snaps going to Tao Johnson and Nate Ritchie.
Evans kept his head down and kept impressing in practice as he began to feel more and more comfortable with Utah’s scheme, and by the end of the season, developed into a starter for the Utes.
His first start since the ASU game came against Colorado, where he turned in a solid game with two tackles and a pass breakup while performing well in coverage.
That showing gave him the start at strong safety the rest of the way, and Evans rewarded his coaches with two more good performances vs. Iowa State and at UCF, finishing the season with a final stat line of 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup.
“I think any accumulated reps, particularly against good competition, is going to allow you to gain more confidence,” Scalley said. “He really came into his own at the end of last season and this was just continued progress and he’s a guy that we expect to make a lot of plays for us.”
There’s no better teacher than experience, and Evans’ first taste of Power Four football proved to be extremely valuable.
“I would say the whole game just slowed down for me. When I first got here and throughout the season, it was kind of moving fast for me, but just being able to get the reps and stuff like that, it just slowed down, so it’s making everything easier,” Evans said.
Projected to be Utah’s starting strong safety and part of a tandem with Johnson this season, Evans had the opportunity to take part in his first spring ball since joining Utah, and he finished spring to rave reviews from coaches.
“They gained confidence in their play. Tao and Rabbit both gained weight. That was something that they wanted, to get stronger and gain weight,” Scalley said.
“The seasons, they wear and tear on you, and you got to be able to, particularly the safety position, you have to pack the pounds on because you’re going to be hitting and you’re going to be in the box quite a bit. So loved what they brought to the table.”
As he concluded spring ball, Evans said his goal for the summer was to get better and continue to learn, especially in the film room.
“Just continue to get stronger, faster, continue to grow with the defense. Little technique things, man coverage, playing the posts, playing in the box, everything for real, I’m just trying to continue to better my game, however I can,” Evans said.
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