From Auckland to US: IU punter James Evans has come long way since not knowing Chick-fil-A

BLOOMINGTON -- Kasey Teegardin started naming restaurants. Teegardin, IU’s special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach, had just met James Evans in person for the first time. They had talked and FaceTimed, but this was their first meeting in the flesh. Evans had just finished off roughly 30 hours of travel. It took three flights to get him from Auckland, New Zealand, to Indiana.

But now, it was time to eat. Teegardin gave Evans the option to dine at any spot. So the coach started listing restaurants. He landed at Chick-fil-A.

“What’s that?” Evans responded.

Eventually, it was settled. Chick-fil-A it was. They pulled into the drive-through. What’s good? Evans asked. It turned into an ordering bonanza. “Yeah, I’ll try that,” Evans kept saying. “Yeah, I’ll try that.” Chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, a wrap, a milkshake, waffle fries. It was a feast. They rode around campus, Teegardin giving him a tour. Then they sat there for hours, eating Chick-fil-A and talking.

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That was almost two years ago. Evans has come a long way since. His journey  — from his eccentric personality to acclimating to a new country to an up-and-down freshman season — is fascinating. In 2022, the punter has been one of the bright spots in IU's otherwise disappointing season. Given IU's offensive woes, Evans has gotten a lot of work.

“I think he’ll be the best punter that’s ever played, at least here,” said IU long snapper Sean Wracher. “And I think one of the better punters in the Big Ten, for sure.”

James Evans was a precocious child

Peter Evans, James Evans’ father, was at work when he got a call. James Evans was on the phone and had a story to tell. Apparently, Evans had gotten into a skirmish with his older brother. Evans’ head went through a glass window. Sure enough, when Peter got home, there was an Evans head-sized hole in the window. His noggin? Not even scratched, Peter said.

“He was quite proud that his head went through the window,” Peter said.

Born and raised in Auckland, Evans was an energetic young boy. When he was a little more than 1 year old, he could climb out of his cot, causing a “bang” from him hitting the floor, signaling that he was out. One time, at a family gathering, there was a car parked on a slight slope in front of the garage. Somehow, Evans managed to get the car moving forward, and it ran into the garage door. They had to get the garage door replaced.

Perhaps, too, there was a certain quirkiness to Evans. After his now second-youngest sister had just been born, he touched her ears as a way to show endearment. Evans was a Buzz Lightyear aficionado. He had Buzz Lightyear dress-ups, toys and books. Don’t get it twisted, though, Evans was smart, too. When he was 3 or 4 years old, he’d stop during walks to read the numbers on the mailboxes. He also did well in school. When looking at where to play football in college, academics were an important part.

Growing up, Evans was involved in a variety of athletic endeavors — rugby, cricket, water polo, running, squash. Evans had a strong leg for kicking, which was apparent during his rugby career. One time at a rugby match, a former member of the All Blacks (New Zealand national rugby union team), mentioned someone to Peter, saying he was a really good kicker and player. That player was Evans.

Around when he was an early teenager, Evans watched football but didn’t play it. Due to the time difference, there is college football on Sundays. Eventually, Evans was losing his passion for rugby. He had a passion for football. It was an opportunity to continue his athletic career, live in another country and get a really good education. He found Prokick Australia, a training organization for punters and kickers. He went there for a few months, but the time was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It did, however, pay off with a chance at IU. Coach Tom Allen was already familiar with Prokick Australia. They sent videos from various angles of Evans. “They said, he's raw but they think this kid's got NFL potential leg strength-wise,” Allen said. If there was such a thing as the football recruiting version of online dating, this is it. The coaching staff tried to inform Evans about IU, but he also had to rely on Google and YouTube. He spoke to some other international athletes, too. There was trust on both sides.

“It's kind of unique when you recruit, you always have to figure out who they are,” Allen said. “But when they're halfway across the world, it's really difficult to really know them. You can't go visit them, that kind of thing. … The guy that we watched kick, is that the one we’re gonna get sent?”

Learning football rules the hard way

Punt was called during a practice. This was early in Evans’ career at IU, before he had even played in a game. He ran onto the field. Then stopped. The problem? Evans’ shoelace was untied. So there he was casually tying his shoe on the field, while others waited for him. Teegardin ripped into him. Allen was on the bullhorn yelling, too.

“A kind of a cluelessness to the reality of how things maybe work in our sport,” Allen said. “So we laughed about it afterwards. I wasn’t laughing in the moment for sure.”

There was another time, too. Evans took the field and crushed a punt. The problem this time? He took his helmet off before he got to the sideline. “Coach Allen is like ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU CAN’T DO THAT,’” Teegardin remembers.

Adjusting to the nuances of football took time. Pads confused Evans. He wasn’t even supposed to get hit, yet there were all these pads — knee, hip, thigh. The first time he started holding at IU, he put the ball down, then lifted his hand near his ear. Apparently, he’d seen somebody do it in the NFL and wanted to try it himself.

It wasn’t just acclimating to football, but also to life. Setting up a bank account. Getting identification. Getting his name on bills. In Indiana, there's also the cold. When Evans left New Zealand for Indiana, he was wearing shorts and sandals. In Indiana, he got some warm-weather clothes. IU kicker Charles Campbell remembers seeing Evans sitting in the locker room all bundled up.

“Dude, like were you not ready for cold weather?” Campbell remembers asking Evans.

“Not really,” Campbell recalls Evans saying.

For about the first two weeks after arriving, he kept getting in the driver’s side of the car when he meant to get in the passenger’s side. Cars are driven on the right side of the road here, not left. So when he finally drove, he slowly rolled down the road.

“I was just like scared (expletive),” Evans said.

Those around him picked up on his humorous habits — specifically his style. He frequently wears a bright purple “Crown Royal” top. While in Florida, Evans paired a black V-neck T-shirt with a swimsuit. He is also fond of a simple, plain white undershirt. It somewhat translated to the field, too. During fall camp, he had holes in his socks and took heat from Allen about it. Before games, he wears big headphones, which make it look like “he’s in the middle school library doing his work,” Wracher said.

His unique personality doesn’t stop at style. Evans gets hooked on restaurants. His first year, it was Smokin' Jack's Rib Shack. “We’d go there like five times a week,” Wracher said. Teegardin has a yellow lab named Ranger. Some of IU’s players want to play with the dog. Evans, though, isn’t as fond of Ranger.

“He’s hilarious without trying to be funny,” Teegardin said.

Putting in the work

During the summer, when IU was hosting official visits, Evans was punting on the field. It was a Saturday morning and Evans was getting in extra work. Not only that but Evans also let returners know, so they could get work as well.

Getting to where he is now required time and effort. As a freshman, Evans was inconsistent. Some of that is understandable. His first-ever competitive football game was a college football game — at Iowa, nonetheless. “That was probably the most adrenaline I’d ever had,” Evans said. But the improvement from last season to this season is clear. He already has more punts inside of the 20-yard line this season than he did last season. He has also taken on another responsibility during games — holding. It was a skill he worked on. Campbell estimates that Evans catches about 200 balls from the JUGS machine per practice. He even has a system for optimal efficiency.

Evans’ family either watches games or listens to Don Fischer’s radio broadcast. There have been times when they wake up early Sunday morning. They hope to eventually see him play in person.

“Because he’s got that support network there, you know that he’s got people around him that care about him,” said Evans’ mother, Claire Donnelly “… So he has got his American family — American families I should say — because there have been several families that have been incredibly great.”

Evans has learned a lot here. Driving on the right side of the road. Keeping his helmet on while he's still on the field. As he grows, he figures to be an important part of IU's future.

And that first Chick-fil-A meal?

“I did like it,” Evans said. “It was good, yeah.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football: Punter James Evans learns about America