Zach Evans reacts to his first game in Ole Miss uniform

Zach Evans was a big part of the transfer portal haul for Ole Miss this offseason. He put on quite a show in his debut, too.

Evans rushed for 130 yards as No. 21 Ole Miss defeated Troy 28-10 in Oxford Saturday. It gave the former TCU running back a taste of what it’s like to play at Vaught Hemingway Stadium as a member of the home team, and he sure enjoyed it.

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“It felt good,” Evans told SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang. “It felt good being back in the Vaught for the first time. I’m loving the crowd, I’m loving the energy.”

However, Evans didn’t score in the game. Even despite the 15-point victory, he’s staying concerned about getting better — and that’s going to be the focus going forward.

“We’re fighters,” Evans said. “We’ve got to do better. It’s a lot we can learn from this. We’ve just got to go back and improve. We’ve got to improve. Today wasn’t good enough.”

Evans arrived at Ole Miss as the No. 7 transfer to hit the portal over the offseason, according to the 2021 On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Another big portal commitment, USC transfer quarterback Jaxson Dart, also made his Rebels debut and made an immediate impact.

Dart was able to hit a milestone in the second half, throwing his first career Ole Miss touchdown. The ground game is where the Rebels really excelled in the first half but now in the third quarter, Dart is on the board.

On a 3rd and 9 play, Dart was able to connect with a fellow transfer, Malik Heath. Ole Miss extended its lead to 28-3 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

On the day, Dart threw for 154 yards and one touchdown to help Ole Miss to the victory. Next up for the Rebels is a matchup against Central Arkansas on Sept. 10.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.