It’s hard to believe that Donald Evans of Winston-Salem State hadn’t already been enshrined into the CIAA’s John B. McLendon Hall of Fame.
But Evans, a former football star for the Rams, will be enshrined on March 2 at the Charlotte Convention Center during the CIAA basketball tournament.
Evans, whose son, also named Donald, was a backup lineman on the 13-1 Rams this past season, became the highest-drafted player in school history when he was a second-round pick in 1987 by the Los Angeles Rams. He wound up playing eight seasons in the NFL with the Rams, Eagles, Steelers and Jets.
During his 90 games in the NFL he had 17 sacks with his best season coming in 1993 when he had 6.5 sacks for the Steelers.
Bill Hayes, the athletics director at WSSU, was Evans’ coach when he played for the Rams in the mid-1980s. Despite being such a high draft pick Evans, who was enshrined into WSSU’s Big House Gaines hall of fame in 2004, never made an All-CIAA team during his career.
Evans also made a large donation to WSSU a few years back and the Donald Evans Training Facility is in the Thompson Center on campus.
This will be the 38th class into the hall of fame.
The others who will be inducted are Claudie Mackey (basketball and track, Elizabeth City State), Ralph Tally (basketball, Norfolk State), Warren Bruce Spraggins (basketball, Virginia Union), Diedra Fields (basketball, Bowie State), the 1950 CIAA championship men’s basketball team of N.C. Central which was McLendon’s final championship for the Eagles and the late Vic Fulp, a former sportswriter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch who covered the CIAA for nearly 50 years.
A little more on Evans
I was able to talk with Bill Hayes this morning and I asked him about Evans, and what kind of player he was for the Rams. Hayes said that up until his junior season Evans played some a running back and some at tight end.
"Finally we decided we needed to find him a position where he could flourish and that was on the defensive line," Hayes said. "And the rest is history because he was such a good athlete and we knew that about him."
Evans also flourished off the field after his NFL days were over and he owns a construction company in Raleigh. Hayes said that recently Evans' company won a big award that was well deserved.
"He's still winning and that's great to see," Hayes said.
Hayes is also proud of the fact that Evans has never been shy about giving money back to the university, which is why part of the Thompson Center is named after Evans.
"He's probably given more money to this university than any other athlete," Hayes said. "And I don't mind saying that. So to see him get into the CIAA Hall of Fame is a wonderful tribute to him and his family."
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