Nebraska's secondary has had to replace production and answer questions about its depth all season, and one of the players filling that gap has been Victor Evans III . A transfer out of FIU, Evans has worked his way into a regular role in the Blackshirts' defensive backfield, and through his first few games in Lincoln, he's found a rhythm.
Evans said adjusting to it hasn't been complicated. Speaking to the media after Tuesday's practice, the cornerback said the biggest jump so far has simply been enjoying the moment.
"It's just been fun, just to be out here, playing in Memorial," Evans said. "They've been telling me about it since I got here in the spring, like, 'Oh, it's going to be packed, it's probably the biggest crowd you're going to play in.' It was really fun, being out there with my brothers and just looking up at the crowd before the game starts, just taking it all in."
Victor Evans | @v.evansiii/instagram
That enthusiasm hasn't been limited to gameday. Evans said the feeling extends to something as ordinary as practice.
"I feel like it's just exciting every day," Evans said. "Every day I come here just to practice with them is filled with excitement. So to be on the road with them, knowing it's just us together going against somebody else, is just fun."
He carried that same energy into a question about the defense's mentality heading into Big Ten play.
"Just attack. That's really it," Evans said. "Just attack and go out and have fun. Do everything at the same speed. That's it."
'Football Is Football' Until It Isn't
Evans has made it a point since arriving at Nebraska to downplay the idea that a jump in competition changes the sport itself. But he was candid that this level still carries something extra.
"I've been saying that before I got here, football is football wherever you go," Evans said. "But when you're on this level, like, you hear, 'Oh, this is the best conference.' So it does give you a different type of confidence once you feel like you can play with guys in this conference."
Evans said that confidence has been built alongside the rest of Nebraska's secondary, crediting teammates like Andrew Marshall, Danny Odem, Jamir Conn, and Dwayne McDougle for helping speed up his transition.
"I learned a lot. I feel like we (Marshall) help each other I can ask him anything," Evans continued. "Even the safeties, like Jamir and Dwayne, we could ask each other anything. And even though Danny's a younger guy, I feel like I learned a lot from him too. It's techniques that he's got that I don't got yet. So we all just watch each other's film, we grade each other. We all learn from each other to get each other better."
Victor Evans | @v.evansiii/instagram
Nebraska's newcomer status in the Big Ten will be tested again this week, with physicality and a run-heavy attack on the horizon. Evans said he expects exactly that.
"Physical," Evans said. "Feel like there's going to be a lot of physicality. I know we're going to have to tackle a lot, take blocks, set edges, and be really physical."
For a player who insists football is football no matter the zip code, Evans has spent his first season in Lincoln discovering just how much this particular version of it can still surprise him.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/nebraska as Victor Evans III Says 'Football Is Football' But This Conference Gives Him a Different Kind of Confidence .
