Zach Evans’ recruitment by college football programs across the country has been a long process, but it has finally come to a conclusion, as he has decided to sign with TCU and play his college career there.

Evans is the number one running back in ESPN’s Class of 2020, and was ranked as the 16th overall recruit. He was a highly sought after player, receiving offers from around 40 schools. The Houston, Texas native ultimately picked TCU over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee and defending champion LSU (the other four schools he made official visits to).

Evans had originally signed a letter of intent to play at Georgia back in December, but rescinded the letter in early January and was released by the program, which allowed Evans to sign with another program, and remained unsigned up until yesterday.

Despite being suspended from his high school team at North Shore High School in Houston for violating team rules, Evans still was named the MVP of the Under Armour All-America Game in early January. 

Since Evans signed a financial aid agreement with TCU, it almost guarantees that Evans will suit up for the team in the fall, if games are played given the Covid-19 lockdown. Evans has also reportedly started taking classes at TCU. 

Evans is the highest recruit the Horned Frogs have signed this year, and is the first five-star recruit since ESPN started their rankings in 2009.

Every major athlete who become a university recruit has a different approach to the decision-making process.

Von Miller Explains Commitment To Texas A&M Over LSU

Some value the prestige of a program the most, others aim to choose the school that offers the best route to the pros, while others simply look for a school where they can play from the start.

For Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, the decision came down to which school wanted him the most.

Miller, a three-star recruit, ended up having a fantastic career at Texas A&M after choosing the Aggies over LSU in 2007. LSU was the better team at the time. It was coming off of a Sugar Bowl win against Notre Dame and went on to win the national title in 2007. However, as Miller, 27, explained to Sports Illustrated in his own way, Texas A&M seemed more overtly interested in him. The Super Bowl 50 MVP used a dating analogy to explain his decision:

“A&M really wanted me,” Miller said. “You know that girlfriend that’s really not that attractive but she’s going to do everything she can to keep you? That was A&M. . . . That hot chick that just talks to you on Mondays? That was LSU.”

That’s quite an interesting analogy for recruiting, albeit one that certainly make the point very clear. Texas A&M fans are definitely glad the program put in the time and effort in to land Miller as he was a star for the Aggies’ defense.

Miller also signed the highest-paying contract to date for a non-quarterback just last month.

SANTA CLARA, CA – FEBRUARY 07: Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos reacts against the Carolina Panthers during Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium on February 7, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Forget about the 2017 recruiting class. And 2018? Don’t worry about it.

Instead let’s focus on the recruiting class for 2020.

That was the message sent by Michigan’s head football coach Jim Harbaugh, or at least, how it has been interpreted.

Harbaugh continued to show his knack for making headlines when eighth grader Sol-Jay Maiava announced he was offered a scholarship by the Wolverines head coach.

“Blessed 2 say I received my first scholarship offer from the University of Michigan,” Maiava tweeted early Wednesday morning, while including the hashtags “Wolverines” and “Go Big Blue.”

The news was first reported by MLive.com.

Maiava is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound dual-threat quarterback who claims to have posted a forty time of 4.7 seconds. That is the type of athlete that would get any campus buzzing, but Big Blue will have to wait a few years before seeing Sol-Jay’s smiling face in Ann Arbor.

MAIAVA’S HIGHLIGHT REEL: EASY FOLKS HE”S STILL IN 8TH GRADE

The Laie, Hawaii, native came onto Harbaugh’s radar as the Michigan coaching staff continued its extensive, and controversial, satellite camp tour that spanned areas of California this week, before touching down in the 50th state.

Maiava cannot officially sign a letter of intent until his junior season, but Michigan’s head coach wanted to make sure the middle school signal caller was aware of Michigan’s interest in his future.

Can anybody “hang loose” better than Harbaugh?

The Notre Dame football program made quite a stir in South Bend, Ind., over the weekend.

Notre Dame Football’s 2017 Recruiting Class Becomes No. 7 After New QB, LB

Notre Dame’s Junior Day event on Saturday reportedly featured up to 30 prospects from the class of 2017 from 16 different states.

Junior Day is designed to offer prospective players a closer look at the Fighting Irish’s campus and watch Saturday’s football practice as the university continues spring-ball workouts. The recruiting event appeared to reap immediate benefits, since it resulted in commitments from a pair of players rated as four stars according to 247Sports.

Avery Davis, a 5-foot-11, 192-pound quarterback from Cedar Hill, Tex., and David Adams, a 6-1, 215-pound inside linebacker from Pittsburgh Central Catholic, both announced their commitments to Notre Dame via Twitter this weekend.

Following the addition of Davis and Adams, the Irish’s 2017 six-member class has jumped to No. 7 in 247Sports’ composite team rankings with five four-stars and one three-star.

Davis, who is rated the seventh-best dual-threat QB and 213th overall prospect nationally for the class of 2017, and had 16 Division I offers in total, including Colorado, Houston, Texas Tech and Utah. He did not, however, receive any offers from his home state of Texas.

Adams had 32 Division I offers, including Baylor, Florida, LSU, and Michigan. He is rated the 105th-best overall prospect and fourth-ranked inside linebacker nationally for 2017.

The four other 2017 prospects currently committed to Notre Dame are:

• OT Dillan Gibbons (6-4, 311), three-star, Clearwater (Fla.) Central Catholic
  • TE Cole Kmet (6-5, 230), four-star, St. Viator (Arlington Heights, Ill.)
  • OT Joshua Lugg (6-6, 288), four-star, North Allegheny (Wexford, Pa.)
  • TE Brock Wright (6-4 ½, 243), four-star, Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men’s Basketball Team defeated the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 76-75 in the second-round game of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday after a final tip-in off with 1.5 seconds left.  The Lumberjacks held a one-point lead in the final 3:30 before the Irish’s Rex Pflueger tipped in a shot with his right hand after forward Zach Auguste missed a putback after misses from Stephen F. Austin’s Thomas Walkup (who led the Lumberjacks with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists) and Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson, who led his team with 18 points.

The Fighting Irish shot 56.9 percent from the field, but attempted 13 fewer field goals than the Lumberjacks, who shot 45.3 percent. Auguste scored 18 points and added a game-high 16 rebounds for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame is now in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. They will next face the Wisconsin Badgers.

Caption: GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 01: Quarterback DeShone Kizer #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish throws a pass during the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)