Wisconsin quarterbacks’ mouths are watering after record-breaking wide receiver Lee Evans announced he would return to the Badgers for his senior season.
Evans, who broke UW’s career receiving record and the Big Ten’s single-season yardage mark last fall, released his statement Jan. 9 reportedly from his home in Bedford, Ohio, and answered questions at Camp Randall a week later.
He pointed out Brooks Bollinger’s and Jim Sorgi’s delight at the news.
“The whole time they were saying, ‘Don’t leave, you better not leave me,'” Evans said. “So they were excited.”
Many UW fans feel the same way. Evans’ 75 catches and 1,545 were the highlight of a disappointing 5-7 Badgers season. His return means last season’s highly productive offense will remain largely intact, and he admitted he looked forward to a successful season with his teammates in 2002.
But the decision not to enter the NFL draft was for himself.
“It was pretty much all about me and what I wanted to do and what I felt the most comfortable with,” Evans said. “I just went with my gut feeling.”
Evans wants to enjoy another year of the college experience, passing up what is likely to be a lucrative draft paycheck. He said the NFL advisory committee graded him as a high second-round pick like former Badger receiver Chris Chambers, whom the Miami Dolphins selected in the second round last April.
While mulling over his decision in the last month, Evans spoke with several of his former teammates who have successfully made the move to the NFL, including Chambers and 2001 first-round picks Jamar Fletcher and Michael Bennett. Evans said he wanted to gather as much information as possible before coming to a conclusion.
But when the time came, he fell back on his initial feeling.
“The best advice I heard was, ‘Do it for yourself,'” he said. “For me. Do whatever I wanted to do and be comfortable with that. Don’t let one person or another affect your decision; it’s all about you.”
He said his desire to improve as a football player and particularly as a person swayed him away from the money and challenge of the NFL. Evans wanted to make sure he was able to handle the professional leagues the right way.
“The NFL could make you or break you,” Evans said.
“If you go in and you’re not mature enough to handle some of the things they throw at you, you’ve got a real short career. So I figure if I go in, I want to be mature enough to handle it and at least be around for a while.”
Apparently, Evans was mature enough to recognize some of the influences that could have harmed his decision, which he listed as agents and other people who wanted to be attached to the money of an NFL contract. He described one person who told him staying in school was “stupid,” and laughed at the ironic contradiction.
He said he was aware of the valid reasons to leave, but dismissed them in favor of continuing at UW.
“One of the risks, obviously, is injury,” Evans said. “And another is decreasing your value in the draft, but the pros have a lot to do with improvement as a person and as a player. Because no matter what you do, there’s always something you can improve in.
“And I wanted to stay, just to be in the college atmosphere and to be in the college life.”
