GOAZCATS.com - Top UA players in Pac-10 Era: #13

September 10, 2009

Jason Nimrichter
GOAZCATS.com Staff Writer

Since Arizona joined the Pac-10 back in 1978, many football players have come to UA, had very noteworthy college careers, and went on to play in the National Football League.

With the help of the premium members of GOAZCATS.com, we have compiled a list of the top 20 football players that have played for the Wildcats during that timeframe.

Coming in at number 13 is linebacker Byron Evans, who anchored a very strong unit in the mid-80's for the Wildcats.

Evans was one of the top defensive players that UA had during one of the better decades of Arizona football. As one of the players that was given the responsibility of replacing Wildcat legend Ricky Hunley, Evans played in a vaunted unit that was feared on a national level.

Evans grew up a fan of Arizona State and as a kid, he would dream about playing for the Sun Devils. That never happened for Evans as he was virtually ignored by ASU during his recruitment, but that didn't stop former Arizona assistant Gary Bernardi from pursuing the talent from South Mountain High School.

He decided that Arizona, the arch-nemesis of his favorite school as a child, would be the place for him and it turned out to be one of the better choices he ever made.

Evans played on some very impressive UA defenses throughout his tenure in college. Coached by Larry Smith, Evans' teams finished with a winning record every year and appeared in two bowl games - a 13- 3 tie against Georgia in the 1985 Sun Bowl, and a 30-21 victory over North Carolina in the 1986 Aloha Bowl.

As an anchor in the middle of the linebacker corps, Evans' career is equaled by few in UA history. His 552 career tackles rank him only behind Hunley's 566 and he was the recipient of several accolades over the course of his college career. He was also part of a team that had ASU's number as Evans never lost to the team he grew up cheering for.

The 1986 season was especially magical for Evans. As a team, the Wildcats finished with a 9-3 record overall, including the bowl victory and a lot of the success can be directly attributed to Evans' impact on the field.

That season, Evans earned All-Pac-10 first team offers for the second consecutive year, was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was a second-team All-American.

He was able to turn his success as a Wildcat into a very solid NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. At the time, Philadelphia was coached by Buddy Ryan, who ran a very intricate 46 defense that was extremely difficult to learn.

That didn't stop Evans from succeeding as a pro. He became the Eagles' defensive signal caller in 1988 only one year after being drafted. He was named defensive captain of a very stout Eagles defense a season later and earned second-team All-NFL honors in 1990 and 1992.

His career was cut short in 1994 when he tore his MCL and broke his leg while attempting to tackle Browns' running back Leroy Hoard, but his time on the field will not be forgotten at any level. He excelled against the odds everywhere he played and is unquestionably one of the greatest Arizona Wildcats of all time.

Since his career ended, Evans has been more involved in family life and his church. On top of living with his wife Alva and their three children, Evans has also been involved in the ministry at Shiloh Apostolic Church in Phoenix, where he is now an associate pastor and Sunday School teacher.