(Marana, AZ) Former Philadelphia Eagle and Arizona Wildcat Linebacker Byron Evans was named the Head Coach of South Mountain High School in Phoenix Arizona.
Evans was born February 23rd, 1964 in Phoenix and played his high school ball with the Jaguars.
He was signed in 1982 by Larry Smith at the University of Arizona and quickly became a stalwart on defense, being known as a vicious hitter. The Wildcats during this era had some of the best defensive players in the conference and the nation.
Evans played linebacker along and with Ricky and Lamont Hunley, the Singleton brothers Chris and Kevin and with 520 Sports Talk’s boxing analyst Jerry Beasley.
Offensively, the Cats had it all with Alfred Jenkins at quarterback, 520 Sports Talk host and All Pac-10 running back David Adams, along with local high school star wide outs, Jon Horton (Sunnyside) and Jay Dobyns (Sahuaro).
His stellar play didn’t go unnoticed by the league’s coaches as he was named the PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1986.
After finishing his college career, Evans was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 93rd pick in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL Draft. Eagles Head Coach Buddy Ryan wanted a Mike Singletary prototype player and that’s what he got in Byron Evans.
Evans was a fixture in the middle of the “Gang Green” Eagles Defense that terrorized opponents in the late 80’s through mid 90’s. He played along side of legends, Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Seth Joyner and Clyde Simmons.
The Eagles had the #1 defense in the league in 1991.
Evans had 806 career tackles but was known also for getting back in coverage and snagged 13 interceptions scoring a touchdown on one of the picks.
Byron returned to the Valley of the Sun after his NFL career was finished. He’s married and has three children. Evans also is an ordained Christian Minister.
So Evans comes full circle and returns to his roots and the school that got him started in a stellar football career.