Lane Kiffin says Zach Evans is healthy entering Texas Bowl

At last, it seems Ole Miss running back Zach Evans is completely healthy heading into this week’s Texas Bowl against Texas Tech. The TCU transfer’s season was riddled with nagging ailments, and those seem to be behind him now that he’s had a few weeks to recover.

“Zach is really excited and fully healthy, which throughout the year, he has been at times and obviously there were times when he was hurt,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said Monday. “He’s played really well when he’s been healthy, so this should be a great opportunity for him.”

Despite his injuries, Evans appeared in 11 games this season where he rushed for 899 yards and eight touchdowns on 136 attempts. However, he was mostly overshadowed by the emergence of true freshman superstar running back Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first season in Oxford.

With Judkins firmly solidifying himself as the first-team running back, questions had risen about whether or not Evans would simply opt out of the bowl game and either declare for the NFL Draft, or even enter the NCAA transfer portal for a second consecutive year.

To Evans, the game goes deep then just unfinished business or finishing his collegiate career out with a bang. Instead, he’s going to relish the fact that he gets to play in his home city of Houston inside NRG Stadium. It just made him want to participate in the matchup even more, and is a great opportunity to remind scouts, teammates and his coaches why he was the No. 1 running back recruit in the 2020 class.

“I’ve still got a lot to prove to myself. And not only to myself but to my teammates,” Evans said of why he decided not to opt out. “I know I missed a couple games this year and there’s no excuse for that. But I still got a lot to show out there.”

With Evans in the backfield, Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl is scheduled to kick-off this Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. CT live on ESPN. The Rebels head into the bowl game as 3.5-point favorites.