Rehab going well for Tech's Evans

BLACKSBURG — A return to the playing field this season seems unlikely for Virginia Tech tailback Darren Evans, but it hasn’t stopped him from attacking his rehab from the torn left ACL he suffered in the preseason.

The redshirt sophomore returned to practice Monday. He wore a green, non-activity jersey and participated in light drills.

There is still no timetable for Evans’ full return — Tech coach Frank Beamer said on his radio show Monday that he doesn’t expect Evans to play this season — but the player was excited to get back on the practice field, and his teammates were thrilled to see him out there running as well.

“I was excited to see him out there with his pads on,” said freshman tailback Ryan Williams, who is on pace to break a couple of Evans’ records in the coming weeks.

“He put his helmet on (Monday), and he was like, ‘I missed you man. I missed you man. I haven’t spent that much time with you this year.’ (He was) talking to his football pads, so it was cool.”

Forgive Evans for being a bit delirious. Monday was the first day he put on his gear since Aug. 11, when his torn ACL was diagnosed.

For Evans, it has seemed like an eternity, but in terms of typical ACL recoveries, three months is nothing.

“It’s amazing to see him out there working, smiling again, getting ready to go into spring (practice) and try to get back out there and be Darren,” said Hokies rover Davon Morgan, who suffered a similar knee injury last season.

Evans has remained an integral part of the team, playing the role of motivator, coach and confidant. He has been particularly helpful to Williams, the player chasing all his Tech freshman records.

Williams is only 157 yards and one touchdown away from surpassing Evans’ 2008 record-setting totals (1,265 yards, 11 TDs), but that hasn’t kept Evans from offering encouragement.

Williams, in turn, has encouraged Evans in his rehab.

“I texted him (last) Wednesday … and said I can’t wait until he gets back on the field, and he told me that he can’t wait to be back on the field, too. He said he’s going to be behind me all the way throughout next season, and that’s how the conversation ended,” Williams said.

Williams said he hasn’t thought much about what a backfield consisting of himself and Evans could accomplish. Both are 1,100-yard rushers, and both are workhorses.

In fact, only three FBS schools have ever had two freshmen run for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Tech, Nevada 2001-02 and TCU 2002-03).

Because the two are close friends, Williams said he’s eager to see Evans at 100 percent again. He’s not there yet, but he’s working on it.

He did some light running Monday and played catch with one of the assistant coaches.

“He wants to get back so bad, and he will,” Hokies running backs coach Billy Hite said.

“His knee will be stronger than it was before he hurt it.”