Donut Fills in the Holes on Defense

As expectedly is the case, there are a lot of questions. Goes with the territory of bringing in a new defensive coordinator armed with an intricate system which is basically a 180 degree turn from what had been run years prior.

Spring camp is a time to ask those questions. It's the perfect time to stop a drill and teach. To reiterate. Even still, that won't guarantee when walking off the practice field the three days of the week every answer will be collected.

The players head downstairs, grab a recovery shake and make their way to the locker room, the coaches a floor above them at Canvas Stadium to go over the session. For those in the locker room, the best part is that whatever is still on their mind can be addressed. By someone who is actually knowledgeable.

"We call him Donut. I don't know why, but we call him Donut," Ayden Hector said. "He's one of my favorite guys on the team to go to and ask about the culture, the system at Western Kentucky. How was it? Why did you leave, and this and that. He gives honest answers and it's all things I want to hear, and it's all things that help me with this new defense."

Donut – JaQues Evans, as his parents named him at birth – has the answers. He played in Tyson Summers' system at Western Kentucky. Actually, he excelled in the system.

As one might expect with a nickname like Donut, he also has a story, one which can clear up any confusion Hector and his teammates may have. A one-time thing led to a lifelong monicker.

"It was a childhood name, and it's followed me throughout my college career, high school, middle school. It's one of the names my Pee Wee coaches gave me when I was young," Evans says. "We all had a name on the team. (My coach) came to pick me up for practice and I hadn't eaten all morning, and mom was running late so she couldn't fix me breakfast. There was a bag of donuts on the dresser. I said, 'mom, I'm hungry,' she was, 'go get it, go get the donuts on the dresser.' They'd been sitting on the dresser for like a week. You know, when mom's get stuff, they don't eat it right away like us; they hold on to theirs. I'd been asking all week, 'can I have them, can I have them?' … No, no, no. Finally, I caught on, mom, I want them now and she was go get them.

"I was eating them, and I showed up with donut powder on my shirt. I had a black shirt; we didn't wear jerseys over our pads for Pee Wee ball, so I had powder all over my shirt. Someone asked me, 'what's that on your shirt,' and my coach said he was eating donuts on the way here. Donut just kind of stuck with me throughout my career. Pee Wee ball, middle school. When I got to middle school, the high school coach would come watch games and he picked up on it. I don't mind. That's the name that's stuck with me."
Just like that fine powered sugar on a dark-colored shirt, Summers' defense has stuck with Evans. He spent two years with the Hilltoppers, helping the unit become the most opportunistic one in the nation in regard to creating turnovers. Staying true to the multi-purpose player he was in high school (he rushed for more than 2,000 yards and accumulated more than 40 touchdowns), Evans continued to find the end zone as a defender, scoring on two fumble recoveries.

He occupied the important Jack position of the system, a hybrid do-it-all kind of guy who can rush the passer, blitz, cover and defend the run. His job is what the situation dictates, tied to everything.

Which is why if Summers could hand-pick one guy to place in the middle of the locker room as the bastion of reason, it would be Evans. He kinda did by plucking him once again after a short stint at Baylor last season.

Not just for the knowledge, but the person himself.

"First of all, if I had the choice to pick anybody over 20 years, he would be my pick to take with you. He's a great person to be around, smart, super intelligent, he's a likeable guy," Summers said. "Teammates and coaches gravitate to him. He's got his degree. He's a husband, he's a father; he's all these things already. My relationship with him means a lot. It's so good because he's so smart, he can help the outside backers, he can help the inside backers, he can tell the safeties. I was watching him at practice (Thursday), and he told the safeties where to go four different times. It's really neat to have him.

"Where he's great, and I've seen it happen a couple of different times, is where we're in an install and we don't want to overload them, so we only put in two calls. They're like, I don't understand the significance of these two calls, and he'll tell them you have to understand tomorrow we'll have these two calls to go with it and this is how it will manipulate a protection or a coverage. He has so much foresight and he's a smart guy. Over 20 years, there's three or four players that I really listen to on game day, and he's certainly one of those. And he's a playmaker."

He was all-conference after a sophomore season where he finished with 106 tackles, 14 of them for a loss with nine sacks. He was projected to be the defensive player of the year, a season which was cut short by injury.

Naturally, Evans is glad to be back with Summers. He's thrilled to be back in the system, even with some alterations.

"It's fun to be back. It's fun to be here at Colorado State," . The facilities and the staff, coaches, weight and strength coaches, head coach, it's fun. I like their energy around here. I like the toughness and the grit we're building. It's fun to be in a new environment and back with my old coach.

"(The defense is) very versatile. You can be jack, and you have to go out there and play the nickel. You're very versatile. It opens you up to a lot of plays to be made. You have to be on your high horse; you have to continue studying, continue learning the game. Different cadences of the quarterback, linemen's stance, receivers, you have to learn formations. You'll be out there covering, and the next minute you're rushing on third down. First down, you go on the island with your DBs. It's versatile and a fun position."

He's the natural guy for a teammate to go to during practice or after when there is a bit of confusion because he knows how it all works. How the things connect.

More importantly, why they should be excited to play this defense. His enthusiasm is becoming theirs, the promise of results to come.

"The safeties are really active. We're coming downhill a lot," Hector said. "It's a potential to make a lot of plays at safety and nickel. I'm excited. It's aggressive. Aggressive and different. Unique. Confusing to offenses. That's the best way I could put it in a nutshell. Mainly aggressive. Coach Summers wants to blitz a lot."

The defense, and being around Summers, gives Evans an immediate comfort level. Akin to returning home, to a place you're always welcome.

The reunion has been welcomed by both, but Summers may be the happiest of the two.

"I think the biggest thing is his maturity. I think any time you've had challenges, you grow from those things," Summers said. "He's smart enough and mature enough to understand that. I'm a lot better when he's on the field, and hopefully he's a lot better when I'm calling plays and designing them for him. It's been a good marriage so far."

Where there are no irreconcilable differences, not between players and coaches. One of them knows what's going on and can provide those answers.

And because he's new, the role he carries in the locker room is beneficial, allowing him to learn his teammates, even if he's still catching up on names.

"I've created good bonds with everybody on the team -- offense, defense. I'm still learning names," Evans said. "I'm not really good with names, but I know faces. When I see you, I know you're my boy. I'm just continuing to bond with them, and them coming up to me asking for advice, that kind of put me in that position. They say leadership always shows, and sometimes it's forced. I kind of been forced to be that leader, and it's helped me out, staying on top of my game, continue studying my plays so I can lead them in the right way. Know the details of the defense, because some of the stuff he's running is kind of new to me, too. I know the old stuff, but he's bringing in a lot of different stuff. I'm still learning that and getting adjusted to it."

But his is a name they will remember. At least the nickname. Donut is hard to forget, and the story is as unique as the defense Summers employs.

To tell the whole truth, it's not the go-to donut for Donut.

"I do actually like donuts, but I like original donuts," he said. "But it was a powered donut at the time. I had to eat what she had. But it was good though. I like Krispy Kreme glazed donuts."

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