BOONE, N.C. — App State made history in the NFL Draft on Friday, as running back
Darrynton Evans went 93rd overall as a third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans.
It's the highest pick of a Sun Belt running back in the history of the conference, as three other drafted backs were sixth-round selections. In the last 25 years, only two other running backs from North Carolina colleges have been drafted higher than Evans: East Carolina's Chris Johnson (24th in 2008) and North Carolina's Gio Bernard (37th in 2013).
Evans, an early draft entry who was App State's primary running back for just 23 games, posted career totals of 2,884 rushing yards and no fumbles on 482 carries (6.0 yards per attempt). Also a skilled returner and receiver, he had 4,642 all-purpose yards and 34 touchdowns in three college seasons, helping the Mountaineers go 10-3 in 2016, 11-2 in 2018 and 13-1 during a 2019 season in which they finished with a top-20 national ranking.
In addition to being named the Sun Belt Conference's Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 and winning the Sun Belt rushing title in each of his final seasons, he collected three pieces of hardware in four postseason chances as a two-time MVP of the Sun Belt championship game and the MVP of the 2019 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Evans rushed for 1,480 yards, totaled 2,064 all-purpose yards and ranked No. 3 nationally by scoring 24 touchdowns (18 rushing) in 2019. He joined Stanford's Christian McCaffrey (2015) and ECU's Johnson (2007) as only FBS players this millennium with at least 1,400 rushing yards, five TD receptions and a kickoff return for a score in same year
"I'm very hard to tackle in the open field," Evans said on a video call with Titans reporters. "That's just one area that I've always worked on in the offseason, just getting quick to where if I see a hole I can hit it fast, and then once I get through it at the drop of a dime, or I can tempo through, and then from there just go 100 miles per hour. So it's just really using my speed to my advantage, using my vision, and just making people miss."
From scoring on a 100-yard kickoff return against Penn State in 2018, to rushing for three touchdowns in a win at North Carolina and totaling 158 all-purpose yards in a win at South Carolina in 2019, Evans produced against some of the Mountaineers' toughest opponents. Against Charlotte, he became the first FBS player this millennium to post at least 200 rushing yards (234), score three rushing touchdowns and have a kickoff return for a touchdown in the same game.
The big plays against Penn State and Charlotte accounted for two of his school-record three kickoff returns for touchdowns during his college career, and the Penn State game opened a 2018 season in which Evans rushed for a league-leading 1,187 rushing yards (with a 6.6 average per carry) even though he didn't become App State's primary back until Game 5.
As someone who has completed the 40-yard dash in less than 4.40 seconds and ranked second among running backs at the NFL Scouting Combine with a time of 4.41, Evans used his track speed to amass 11 runs of at least 50 yards over his final two seasons and record three kickoff returns of at least 94 yards during his App State career.
He also earned recognition for his academic excellence, as he was labeled the Sun Belt's top football scholar in 2018 and relied on his intelligence to perform well at several positions throughout his career.
In program history, the only App State offensive players to be picked higher than Evans are receiver Brian Quick (No. 33 in 2012), receiver Dexter Jackson (No. 58 in 2008) and quarterback-turned-receiver Armanti Edwards (No. 89 in 2010).
