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Know Your Foe: Scouting Report on Mississippi State WR Anthony Evans III
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- Know Your Foe: Scouting Report on Mississippi State WR Anthony Evans III
(Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
If Oklahoma heads to Starkville and treats Anthony Evans III like a regular starting receiver, the day can get uncomfortable in a hurry.
Evans is the clear focal point of Mississippi State's passing game, and the injury situation around him only makes that more true. The senior is listed around 5-foot-11 and 180 to 190 pounds, a former four-star Georgia transfer who has turned into the Bulldogs' best answer when they need a play. He is not a big boundary mauler. He is a space player with real speed, and that is exactly why Oklahoma has to be intentional about him.
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The production backs it up.
Evans led Mississippi State last season with 67 catches for 831 yards and four touchdowns. This year he has stayed in the middle of everything, sitting on 47 receptions for 614 yards and five scores. The signature tape came against Alabama, when he went off for 12 catches, 166 yards, and two touchdowns. That is not a role player having a nice afternoon. That is a quarterback's first look when the offense needs a spark.
What makes him dangerous is how quickly he becomes a problem after the catch. Evans has elite straight-line speed, the kind backed by a real track background, and he is at his best when Mississippi State manufactures touches. Jet sweeps, screens, quick hitters in space, those are the plays where his acceleration shows up first. He can also stretch the field vertically once he gets a clean release and room to run.
Put him in the slot, motion him across the formation, or move him outside for a shot play, and he gives Jeff Lebby's offense multiple ways to create the same result: the ball in Evans' hands with defenders having to tackle in space.
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That becomes an even bigger issue if Kamario Taylor and Fluff Bothwell are limited or out. With the quarterback and running back situation unsettled, Mississippi State may have to lean even harder on Evans to create easy offense for backup Billy Puckett. That usually means more designed access throws, more quick game, and more attempts to get the ball out before the protection has to hold up.
In other words, Oklahoma should expect Evans to be involved early and often.
The good news for the Sooners is that his game still has buttons worth pressing. He is not the biggest receiver in the league, and physical coverage at the line can throw off his timing. He has also leaned heavily on motion and scheme-created touches rather than winning every route in a full tree. There have been drop and ball-security issues in higher-volume stretches too. So this is not an unsolvable matchup. It is a matchup that punishes soft leverage and lazy tackling.
Oklahoma's plan has to start with the easy stuff. Do not gift him free run on screens and swing throws. The corners and nickel have to play with intentional leverage, trigger downhill once the ball is out, and make Evans earn every YAC yard through contact. If the Sooners sit back and let him catch the ball cleanly in space, he can turn ordinary completions into chunk plays before the rest of the defense arrives.
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The second piece is the vertical threat. Because Evans can take the top off a coverage, Oklahoma needs answers over the top when he aligns in the slot. Bracket looks make sense. Put somebody underneath to stay attached through the break, keep safety help ready on the deep shot, and force Puckett to prove he can win somewhere else. Evans does not need 15 deep targets to hurt you. He needs one clean release and one missed assignment.
Physicality matters too. Soft cushions are how speed guys settle into a rhythm. Oklahoma should mix in press and re-routing at the line, especially if Evans is the clear primary option. Make him work for his release. Make the timing late. Make the backup quarterback hold the ball one beat longer than he wants. That is where the Sooners' front can take over the rest of the possession.
And that is the last part of the formula.
If Mississippi State's run game is compromised, Oklahoma does not have to overextend into obvious all-out pressure every snap. Venables can win with disguise, four-man pressure, and crowded throwing lanes. Speed the game up for Puckett, keep Evans from getting clean access throws, and make the Bulldogs become one-dimensional in the worst way.
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Evans is the player who can wreck that plan if Oklahoma loses discipline. He is fast, productive, and built for manufactured touches. The Sooners do not have to erase him completely. They just cannot let him become the entire script. Keep him crowded on the short stuff, help over the top on the deep stuff, and make everybody else beat you.
If Oklahoma does that, Starkville gets a lot more manageable. If it does not, Evans is good enough to make the whole afternoon run through him.
