Zach Evans explains why it's going to be surreal for him to be playing for Ole Miss

It’s going to be a special day for Zach Evans as he makes his Ole Miss debut on Saturday against Troy for many reasons.

First, the special running back is going to get to play in-front of Rebels fans in Oxford for the first time. However, it won’t be his first experience of an Ole Miss game-day, as the former TCU star explained during a press conference this week.

“It’s real surreal to me,” stated Evans. “So I kind of really have taken it personal, because my cousin D’Vaughn Pennamon, they used to call him ‘Blue.’ He used to go here. Me coming to his games, and watching how he played and how he used to attack the field every day, it made me want to go out there and do better than how he was.”

Afterwards, Evans stated that Pennamon would be in the stands for him for his debut, as long as he makes it in time from Houston. It’s a fascinating turn of events, and one that’ll make his cousin more than proud.

Ole Miss is coming off a tremendous season, but 2022 could be just as special with an athlete as talented as Zach Evans leading the backfield for the Rebels.

Zach Evans explains why not knowing Ole Miss’ starting QB won’t impact the RBs

Moreover, Zach Evans is certain to be featured in the Rebels offense this season, but who will be giving him the ball between quarterbacks Jaxson Dart — a USC transfer — and Luke Altmyer remains to be seen.

Evans said that things don’t really change for him or fellow running backs even when who is playing quarterback does. One reporter asked whether Evans changes anything in his approach based on which quarterback plays.

“Not at all. I mean, we gone keep pushing. We’re all a team,” Evans said. “We’re gonna obviously let Lane and them figure out that side of the ball out. But, other than that, running backs just worry about running backs. You gotta mow your own grass, stay in your own lane, keep pushing, stacking your days.”

Altmyer and Dart, both sophomores, present the Rebels coaching staff with two good options, given how far the camp contest has run.

Dart played in six games as a freshman at USC in 2021, throwing for 1353 yards and posting nine TDs to five interceptions. When he transferred to Ole Miss, it was natural to slot him in as a replacement for the outgoing Matt Corral, now with the Carolina Panthers.

Instead a quarterback competition with Altmyer, a four-star recruit out of Starkville, has run nearly to the wire at fall camp. Altmyer appeared in four games last season and had just 37 passing attempts, but has one more year at Ole Miss than Dart has — a head start that surely paid dividends.