Ram Notebook : Evans, Newly in Control, Fights for Fullback Job

You can’t begin to understand the Donald Evans of 1988 without first remembering the Donald Evans of 1987.

Back then, he was the Rams’ first pick in the draft, a defensive end from tiny Winston-Salem State, a rookie so flustered by the Rams’ trip to London that he rarely ventured out of the hotel lobby. All Evans knew for sure was that he wasn’t in Raleigh, N.C., anymore.

It was a tragic summer for him. His mother died just four days after the draft. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone, stuck on the other side of the country, trying to make the quantum leap from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. to the National Football League.

Good luck.

“You get caught up feeling sorry for yourself,” Evans said. “You start asking, ‘Why me?’ ”

Ram coaches noticed. At defensive end, Evans knew nothing more than to try to bully his way past offensive tackles and guards.

“I didn’t have any technique,” he said. “I basically ran over people in my conference. I was trying to power over people. Here, that’s an offensive lineman’s dream.”

So the Rams tried him at nose tackle. That flopped. Eventually, they tried him at fullback, an admission of sorts that they had reached a little too far, expected a little too much from a Division II player with less than two seasons’ experience at defensive end.

“In the beginning, it was kind of frustrating,” he said.

Now look at Evans: Serene, content, intimidated no longer by circumstances out of his control. The Rams want his best; he’ll give it to them and let the rest take care of itself.

“I’m not worrying about things,” he said. “I’m happy. I sleep at night.

“This year, I feel like I’m more mature, can handle situations better. I don’t even look at it as a lot of pressure. People say, ‘Donald, you’re a first-round pick (actually second-round).’ Yeah, I know that.”

Boy, does he. All questions concerning Evans revolve around the switch from defensive end to fullback, from sure thing to guy on the bubble. The Rams have only so many spots available on the roster. And at running back, who knows? Charles White and Gaston Green are locks. Robert Delpino continues to get rave reviews from Coach John Robinson. Mike Guman is proven goods. That’s four, with maybe one or two more openings available.

So are this week’s practices and Saturday’s exhibition game against the San Diego Chargers pivotal for Evans?

“Absolutely,” Robinson said.

The Evans of 1987 might have hyperventilated himself into a blackout with such news. The new and improved Evans reacts calmly.

“If I get an opportunity to get in the game, I’ll do the best I know how,” he said. “But I don’t say, ‘Big game . . . countdown.’ That’s not going to help me.”

What Evans needs most is some quality practice time and an appearance in something more visible than a scrimmage. But a persistent pinched nerve in his neck prevented him from playing in the Hall of Fame game July 30. And his so-so status on the Rams’ depth chart may have contributed to his inactivity Wednesday evening against the Denver Broncos.

“I thought I was going to play, but I didn’t,” he said. “That’s the only way to get better--through practice and game situations.”

Evans isn’t complaining. Or worrying. The old Evans did that. The 1988 version has found religion, inner peace, a wife. In October, their first child is expected.

That doesn’t mean Evans isn’t serious about earning a position with the Rams. Truth is, he enjoys carrying the ball more than he did trying to jar it loose from others. Serious? Evans lost 40 pounds to play the position. Red meat is history. Fruits and veggies nowadays. And he figures that if he learns to block better, his chances to stay increase even more.

“When they made the switch (from defense to offense), I was happy,” he said. “I wasn’t having any success at end or nose.”

Now he waits for an opportunity at fullback. The Rams have three options: place him on the active roster, put him on injured reserve or release him. Evans would prefer the first, accept the second and deal with the third.

“I can look people in the face now,” he said. “I’m out there doing my best that I know how. My technique may not be up to par, but I doing the best I can. My head is up. If anything bad happens, I’m not going to take shame.”

Ram Notes

Coach John Robinson on the recent 30-day suspensions levied by the NFL against players who tested positive for drugs: “I just hope they’re responding to each one as they come up and not creating some impression for public consumption.” . . . Ram players are off today and get a break when they return to the practice field Monday. Robinson said only the afternoon sessions of the scheduled two-a-days will be overly physical. . . . Nolan Cromwell watch: Robinson said the Ram coaching offer still stands. He said that if the veteran safety chooses coaching, he “is the kind of person with the kind of reputation that might let him move rapidly” up the college coaching ranks. And don’t think Robinson didn’t see the item about retired Ram guard Dennis Harrah returning to Stonewall Jackson High School in West Virginia, his alma mater, to help coach the offensive line. Harrah said the Generals’ linemen are looking over pilfered Ram playbooks. Said Robinson, smiling: “If he learns to read, then he might be dangerous.” . . . Gene Upshaw, NFL Players Assn. president, met with the Rams Saturday as part of his training camp tour.