Hard work, determination kept Shaq Evans on the football field

Shaq Evans never got involved in gangs or fell in with the wrong crowd while growing up in Inglewood, Calif., but that doesn’t mean trouble wasn’t far away.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver witnessed a shooting outside of his home one night when he was in the seventh grade.

“I heard some commotion outside and like any little kid, I looked out the window and checked it out,” Evans said. “I saw two people, this girl and this guy arguing, and then I see a car pull up and this guy hops out. As soon as this guy hopped out of his car, the other guy ran to his car. He ended up shooting at him and the guy crashed into the pole and ended up dying.

“That was probably the craziest thing I ever saw.”

While Evans said it didn’t rattle him as a kid, it did showcase what type of dangers there were in the neighbourhood.

“There was a little gang violence and stuff around me but I was always able to stay away from it and keep a level head and just do the right thing,” he said. “My mom helped instill that in me. It was a little bit crazy but not too much.”

Those attitudes instilled in him continue to be present as he plays football in the CFL.

“I’m still the same way I was when I was 15. I’m a guy that just wants to work hard and stay at home and mind my business,” Evans said. “I don’t want to be in the streets now, I didn’t want to be on the streets then. I’m not a big party-goer or clubber so I’m a guy that just keeps it real low key.”

His mom, Kalisha Wright, gave birth to Evans when she was 16 years old. To this day, she remains his biggest inspiration.

“Just watching her growing up and the sacrifices she made is really what drives me today to continue to do what I want to do and to continue to make and do things that make her proud,” Evans said.

He mentioned that his mom was always there to try and keep him safe.

Football was a way to keep Evans busy and kept him out of the house growing up. He first began playing flag football when he was five years old.

“It just came naturally to me. I was the best player so I was like, ‘This is fun and I’m just going to keep playing,’” Evans said.

His mom might have also always had dreams of him becoming an athlete, naming him after Shaquille O’Neal. His middle name – Michael – is in honour of NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“I was destined to be an athlete,” Evans said with a chuckle. “There was no other path.”

His football path took him away from home, as he decided to leave the west coast to travel hundreds of miles to play college football in South Bend, Ind., with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

“Coming out of high school I wanted to be different. A lot of people where I’m from go to UCLA and USC so I wanted to go somewhere different,” Evans said. “I took a trip (to South Bend) and I loved it so I ended up attending Notre Dame for one season.”

After a coaching change at Notre Dame, Evans decided the best way for him to reach his dream of playing in the NFL was to transfer somewhere where he could get some more playing time. That decision took him back home, with the UCLA Bruins and then-head coach Jim Mora offering him a scholarship.

During Evans’ college career, he racked up 1,956 yards and 14 touchdowns on 133 catches. He finished his career tied for 10th on the all-time Bruins list for receptions (126).

He said preparing for the 2014 draft was a difficult process with all the workouts and interviews that had to be conducted. But it paid off, with Evans getting drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round (115th overall).

“When I got the call I was actually at the barber shop and I was driving back home and my coach called me and he thought I was ready to get selected,” Evans recalled. “As soon as I pulled up to park my car, I hear my mom and my brother yelling and screaming. I ran in the house and saw my name on the screen.”

Before getting a chance to play in an NFL game, Evans was put onto injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. He was waived and subsequently had stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys.

Evans said he did fail a drug test when he first got into the league, but remained clean in the two years afterwards. He was suspended in 2017 for violating the NFL’s drug policy but he said it was due to a logistics issue and not due to an illegal substance.

“If your urine is diluted, they give you a failed test. If you miss a test, even though you had a legit excuse like you didn’t have your phone or your phone was broken or something like that (you fail). It was just things like that that ended up still being violations that ended up getting me a four-game suspension,” Evans said. “I never failed a test after the initial test that I had failed.”

But the CFL soon came calling. Evans actually worked out with the Roughriders in May 2017, and that was his first experience with the Canadian game. He signed with the Green and White in January 2018.

“I didn’t know anything about Saskatchewan, I didn’t even know it existed,” Evans said. “I’m just blessed to be in a new country and a place that a lot of people don’t get to go to.”

In his first CFL season, he hauled in 50 catches for 785 yards but he didn’t score a touchdown. That goose-egg in the touchdown column ended up being his motivator throughout the off-season.

“That’s what drove me all off-season to work hard and to become the player I am this year,” Evans said. “I knew there had to be a better player than I was last year. Last year was OK but I knew I could do more and the work that I put in this off-season is showing.”

Through nine games this season, Evans has caught 37 passes for 670 yards (sixth in the league) and two touchdowns. He will get a chance to add onto those numbers during the Labour Day Classic on Sunday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.; the Green Zone pre-game show gets underway at 11 a.m.

While Evans is finding success in the land of living skies, the California-raised receiver still is getting used to the harsh Saskatchewan winters.

“Winters are tough up here but I guess that’s why the people are so passionate about the team and about football because that time’s coming where it’s like, ‘I’ve just got to stay in the house.’”