Jordan Evans Holds Defensive Key for an Oklahoma Win in Bedlam
By Chip Rouse
No one questions the ability of Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense to move the ball and put up points. The Sooner defense has been another story this season. The one stable factor in the OU defense this season is the man that stands in the very center of it, No. 26 Jordan Evans.
Evans, a senior, will play his last game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day, in Bedlam and in a game that will determine the 2016 Big 12 champion. For a young man who hasn’t traveled very far from home to get to this day, Saturday will seem like Nirvana. This is the stuff dreams are made of, especially for a local kid who grew up in Norman and went to Norman North High School.
As an inside linebacker, Evans is positioned smack dab in the middle of the Oklahoma defense. He’s not only at the center of the defense, he is the team leader on defense, and his contributions on Saturday will be a key factor if the Sooners are to beat their in-state rivals for a 14th time under Bob Stoops and the third in his four seasons at Oklahoma.
The Sooners got good news this week when Evans was able to return to practice after sitting out almost the entire second half of the West Virginia game with what appeared to be a pulled hamstring. The 6-foot, 2-inch, 235-pound linebacker leads Oklahoma in tackles with 81 (44 solo and 37 assisted). He has four of OU’s seven interceptions this season, three of which have come in the last two games, including two returned for touchdowns.
“I feel like guys are flying around, trying to force things and trying to make plays. When guys do that, something good is going to come your way.” –OU linebacker Jordan Evans
The Oklahoma defense struggled with him off the field and out of the game at West Virginia, underscoring his importance to the continuity and effectiveness to a defense that has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent play most of this season.
The Sooners defense has been playing better over its last four games, and Evans knows that he and his teammates on the defensive unit are going to have to continue to play well if the Sooners are going to be able to slow down another explosive Big 12 offense in Oklahoma State.
Asked about some of the reasons for OU’s recent improvement defensively, Evans said to reporters after the win over Baylor: “Just making plays when plays come to you. I feel like guys are flying around and trying hard, trying to force things, and trying to make plays.
“When guys do that,” he said, “something good is going to come your way. It’s championship (time). Defense wins championships and our offense has been carrying us all year, so I felt like if we (the defensive unit) do our part, we should steamroll through these last couple of games.”
Well, those last couple of games are now down to one – one very important one – and the Sooners are hoping to keep the steamroller rolling right along through Bedlam.
Watch for Jordan Evan to be directing traffic.