UC quarterback Jarred Evans reinstated to football team
UC Athletics Blog
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 2:52 p.m. EDT July 30, 2015


University of Cincinnati backup quarterback Jarred Evans has been reinstated to the football team after a nine-month suspension but might not play just quarterback anymore, UC head coach Tommy Tuberville said Thursday.

Evans, a senior-to-be at UC, was found not guilty of an assault charge in March after he said he punched a fellow student in self-defense. A Hamilton County Municipal Court jury had to sort through contradictory accounts of the incident, which happened the early morning of Oct. 19, 2014 on a Clifton sidewalk shortly after bars had closed. Evans was suspended from the UC football team after news of his arrest.

Although Evans was acquitted in court, he had remained suspended from the UC football team pending university review. UC athletic director Mike Bohn and Tuberville reinstated Evans on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Tuberville hosted his second annual Tommy Tuberville Foundation Golf Tournament at Hidden Valley Golf Club in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Before teeing off, Tuberville also discussed several football topics, including Evans.

"He was cleared yesterday and he's ready to go," Tuberville said. "He's obviously way behind in terms of a quarterback, but we might play him at another position or two, just to make sure he enjoys his senior year."

With junior Gunner Kiel entrenched as the No. 1 quarterback, might Evans play some wide receiver or defensive back?

"Maybe a little of both," Tuberville said. "We'd like him to stay a little bit at quarterback because like we did last year, he had a package that we ran for him."

Redshirt freshman Hayden Moore is the backup quarterback, and walk-on redshirt freshman Luke Wright is No. 3 entering the season, Tuberville said. True freshman quarterback Ross Trail will be redshirted, Tuberville said.

The 6-2, 180-pound Evans (Queens, N.Y./Santa Barbara CC, Calif.) appeared in four UC games last year, serving with since-departed Munchie Legaux as a backup quarterback. Evans was 2-for-5 passing for 10 yards, and he also rushed 22 times for 110 yards and one TD.

Evans also has switched from jersey No. 12 to No. 16, according to the UC roster listed on GoBearcats.com.

PRACTICE WATCH: UC will begin football practice Aug. 6 at its Sheakley Athletics Center practice field on campus. The Bearcats are scheduled to practice for two days at Sheakley before making their annual trek to the Higher Ground Conference and Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana, where UC holds most of its preseason practices.

The season opener is Sept. 5 against Alabama A&M (7 p.m.) at newly renovated Nippert Stadium.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/ucathlet.../30889949/

Glad to hear Evans is coming back. I like the idea of giving him specific packages as long as they are not too predictable. And having a redshirt frosh walk-on as our 3rd string QB was making me nervous although I guess we could cancel Trail's RS if it became necessary.

Always good to have depth at QB.

Evans acted in self defense but he was ground up in the system for a year. That can be extremely frustrating and make you bitter. Hopefully he will find motivation from it instead. The old maxim, "Nothing good happens after midnight" applies as well; he can use this to be a leader and help the younger guys avoid bad situations.

UC lists him as a safety.

Why did the university review take so long if he was found not guilty in March? That's ridiculous.

(07-31-2015 09:05 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  Why did the university review take so long if he was found not guilty in March? That's ridiculous.

You've obviously never worked in Higher Education...

This looks like we had an open roster spot. He was going to be on scholarship anyway to end his career. Might as well throw him out there to fill a position in practice. Might see him on the field in deep injury situations or blowouts.

(07-31-2015 09:05 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  Why did the university review take so long if he was found not guilty in March? That's ridiculous.

Just a hunch but I bet there were qualifiers put him in place to get reinstated (ie. you won't be reinstated until you complete or attend some type of training/counseling/education).

Hopefully whatever he has done (required or not) since the incident has helped him grow as a man, and that he gets his degree. Sounds like a happy ending for both the young man and our University.

(07-31-2015 07:34 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  Always good to have depth at QB.

Evans acted in self defense but he was ground up in the system for a year. That can be extremely frustrating and make you bitter. Hopefully he will find motivation from it instead. The old maxim, "Nothing good happens after midnight" applies as well; he can use this to be a leader and help the younger guys avoid bad situations.

I've had a ton of fun after midnight. That is one of the dumbest sayings I've ever heard.

No one said it wasn't fun. Just that it wasn't good.

Most illegal and immoral things are fun. Hence my long felony record.

(07-31-2015 02:19 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  No one said it wasn't fun. Just that it wasn't good.

my dad had his own version of that saying..."All the weirdo's are out after midnight" he used to tell me.

I've heard the saying amended to nothing good happens after two AM