Five-star RB Zachary Evans taking official visit to Tennessee this weekend

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: 247Sports reports Evans is on campus for his official visit.

The moose is on the loose (again). Stud Tennessee recruiter and tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer has a big fish on the line once more, it appears. Five-star running back Zachary Evans, who has had an absolutely wild recruiting process to this point, might just be set to head to Knoxville this weekend.

Niedermeyer visited the 5-11, 200 pound back out of Houston, Texas earlier this week. Was that visit enough to get Evans to Knoxville — just day ahead of signing day? According to VR2, it was. Matt Ray, a recruiting analyst for the site, reports that the official Tennessee visit could happen this weekend.

Evans initially signed with Georgia during the early signing period, but kept that signature under wraps. A couple of weeks later, he changed his mind and was granted a release from the Bulldogs. Now Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida State and others are trying to get into the mix.

While there are certainly some maturity concerns here, Evans is truly an elite prospect on the field. He was suspended multiple times as a senior in the midst of a state title run. But through his drama-filled week at the Under Armor All-American Game, Evans took home MVP honors on the field. That’s kind of a microcosm of what coaching staffs are weighing here.

In three years as a featured back, Evans piled up nearly 5,000 yards and 76 touchdowns on the ground. He certainly would have a path to playing time early at Tennessee, despite Eric Gray, Tim Jordan and Ty Chandler returning. As a bonus, who wouldn’t want to run behind Tennessee’s ridiculously talented offensive line?

Things have changed quickly with this recruitment and it’s likely to take a couple of more turns before it’s all said and done. For now, at least for this weekend, we’ll update this post as new details emerge.