Sept. 24, 2002
James Bruce Evans likes watching his older brother, Robert, compete. He enjoys going to the ballpark and being outdoors and around people. James Bruce is autistic.
"A lot of people ask me about him, and I tell them I really can't see life any other way," Evans said. "We have a unique relationship. He's pretty much at all my games. He may not know what's going on, but he loves coming to the ball park."
This summer, while Evans was on a mission trip in Brazil, James Bruce had seizures and was hospitalized in Birmingham. "It was one of the most frightening things in my life," Evans said. "I couldn't do anything for him." James Bruce came out of the hospital fine, and Evans was able to continue his mission trip.
"There are times in baseball when I see James Bruce sitting down the left field line with my dad, and it makes me appreciate all I have, and all the gifts and abilities God has given me," Evans said. "At the same time, it's made me more appreciative of him, because he is a big part of my life. And I love being a part of his life."
Evans is both a football player and a baseball player, which is a rarity at the college level. He's a whip-a defensive back/outside linebacker-in Samford's multiple defense for the football team, and he's the starting right fielder and a left-handed pitcher for Samford's baseball team.
UAB, Troy State and Samford offered Evans opportunities to play sports. Instead of following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who played at Alabama and Southern Miss, or his father, who played at Auburn, Evans chose Samford.
"I'm glad I chose Samford because I became a Christian here, and that's the most important thing in my life. God definitely wanted me to come here," Evans said. "I've also enjoyed getting to know the guys on both teams, building relationships and friendships and playing ball."
Evans has already made an impact in both sports in three years at Samford. He was the second leading tackler on the football team last season, finishing with 91 tackles and earning NCAA Division I-AA All-Independent player honors. This season, he has 19 tackles and an interception. In his football career, he has 184 tackles and eight interceptions. The last two baseball seasons, he has hit above .300 with 18 home runs and has 24 home runs in his career.
However, the transition from sport to sport isn't always the easiest. "Three weeks after football, I really start hitting baseball pretty hard. It's hard to take six months off from swinging a bat and come right back into it," Evans said.
This season will be the last time Robert has to make the transition. "Part of me is tired of the nonstop rigor of playing two sports and practicing every day. But I'll be able to look back and be proud of what our teams have done," he said. "Next fall, I'm going to enjoy a semester just being a student. I made the choice to play two sports, and I will have no regrets about doing it."
For now, Evans has a job to do on the football team. He has tried to be a leader during Samford's rough defensive start. The Bulldogs are allowing over 300 yards of total offense.
"We have 11 people who are going to run to the ball. We're not always going to play perfect technique. We're not always going to make the big play. But if we all hustle to the ball, then that will cover up some mistakes," Evans said. "We have some younger corners that can step up and make some plays, and that will make our defense a lot better."
Evans has eight more games to help his defense improve. This summer, he and teammates Rob Shaw and Colby Williamson bulked up while on a mission trip in Brazil. Evans weighs about 190, which is 15 pound heavier than last season. "We found one of the nicest places I've ever been in to work out about 4-6 times a week," Evans said. "I'm trying to keep my physical strength and size up for when we play physical teams like Jacksonville State and Youngstown State later this season. I'm going to need that weight when I'm taking on bigger backs and bigger linemen."
Evans' extra weight will also help him in baseball in the spring. Of the two sports, he has a better chance of playing professionally in baseball.
"From the college standpoint, I am a better baseball player. I think that I can hold my own against any team in the nation and not be scared. I couldn't say that for football, but I am excited to be on the football field every Saturday," Evans said.
"I think I can play baseball professionally, but I'm not sure if it's a goal. Right now, I'm concentrating on football. There will be a time and a place to make some decisions down the road."
With three semesters of school left, Evans has thought about life without athletics. "I'm not sure what I want to do with a history degree, but I'll see what God has in store," Evans said.
Evans has some unfinished business to take care during 2002-03. During a baseball trip to the University of Central Florida last season for an Atlantic Sun Conference game, Evans learned that Dee Brown, the Golden Knights starting left fielder, became the first UCF player in history to score a touchdown and hit a home run in a season. Brown earned honors from the conference. Evans has scored a touchdown and hit a home run the last two seasons. Doing it a third straight season would definitely be a conference record.
"I'm lobbying for time with Coach Skip [receivers coach Eric Skipwith] at inside receiver. I've asked him to look at my high school highlight tape because he'll see a dang good receiver if he does," Evans said. "If we get to the ninth or tenth game and I haven't scored a touchdown yet, I'm hoping to get some playing time at receiver. Let's see what happens."
