Life Is Far More Than Football For CU's Evans

CU football running back Kyle Evans is no newcomer to having a busy schedule.

"All my life I've been the type of person who can never just sit around," Evans said recently. "I always have to be doing something…I just try to balance myself and do different things."

Between playing for the football team, working as a marketing and promotions intern, volunteering for the community outreach program and studying International Affairs at Leeds School of Business, Evans' balanced mindset has allowed him to tackle all of these tasks simultaneously.

Evans' dedication on the football field was noticeable before he arrived at CU. During his senior year of high school, Evans broke his hand in the first game of the season. Doctors advised him to sit out four months, but he was back on the field in five weeks. One year later he joined the CU football team as a walk-on and put his head down and worked during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Before the start of the 2016 football season, Evans was awarded a full scholarship, to the delight of his teammates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttFCHCDBas.

During the 2016 season, he proved his worth, as he was the team's third-leading rusher, trailing only fellow running back Phillip Lindsay and quarterback Sefo Liufau. Evans finished with 84 carries for 346 yards and three touchdowns, and he also caught eight passes for 114 yards.

"My goal every year is to contribute more than I did the previous season," Evans said. "Phillip Lindsay and I work out all the time over the offseason and summer…having guys like that around helps me understand what it takes to be a great player."

In addition to the busy schedule student-athletes maintain, Evans interns for the CU Athletics' marketing and promotions department. While playing for the football team this past fall, Evans also worked marketing positions during soccer games that would follow football practices and on Sundays that followed the Buffs football games. In the winter, he works both men's and women's basketball games, assisting with promotions at halftime. This spring, he'll be working the women's lacrosse games.

CU Marketing/ Promotions Manager Krista Huffman has high praise for Evans.

"One of the biggest impressions he's left on me is his excitement for working," Huffman said. "You don't see a lot of student-athletes who have the time to be able to have a job. His time management really stands out to me. I think he is looking to work in sports one day, so while also having the student-athlete experience he's also seeing what all goes in to make an event happen."

While he is working to make his football dream happen, Evans also knows there's life beyond football and he is putting himself in a position to succeed in other fields.

"If you get a chance to play in the NFL, you have to take that opportunity," said Evans. "After that, I'd like to get into global business, so that's what I'm studying. I really want to do commercial real estate or possibly consulting."

On the football field, there's still plenty of work to be done for Evans and his teammates. The Buffs had great success this past season, winning the Pac-12 South and finishing one game shy of earning CU its first conference championship since 2001.

The team will have the same goal next fall of winning the Pac-12 and the Buffs know what it will take to get that opportunity again.

"We're going to take it game by game," said Evans. "Some people out there may think this past season was a fluke, so we still have a lot to prove."

Players Mentioned

Kyle Evans

Phillip Lindsay

Sefo Liufau

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