Caleb Evans (quarterback)

Caleb Evans (born July 16, 1998) is a professional gridiron football quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Louisiana–Monroe.

High school career

Evans played football at Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Texas before transferring to play his final two seasons at Bishop Dunne Catholic School in Dallas, Texas.

College career

Evans played college football for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in Monroe, Louisiana. He played in 43 games for the Warhawks from 2016 to 2019 where he threw for 9,513 yards with 58 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.

Professional career

Ottawa Redblacks

Evans was not selected in the 2020 NFL Draft and remained unsigned until December 14, 2020 when he agreed to a contract with the Ottawa Redblacks. Evans began the season on the practice roster, but was named the starting quarterback for the team's Week 9 match against the Edmonton Elks with veterans Matt Nichols and Dominique Davis both being placed on injured reserve. Evans played surprisingly well in his first appearance in the CFL, completing 15 of 22 passes for 191 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, leading Ottawa to their second win of the season. In his second career start, Evans threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns in the third quarter as the Redblacks were defeated 35-16. Over the subsequent weeks Evans's performances continued to decline, including being benched in the team's Week 11 loss to the Alouettes. Nevertheless, head coach Paul LaPolice announced Evans would be the team's starting quarterback in Week 12 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Evans continued to start for the Redblacks until Week 14 when it was announced that former NFL quarterback Devlin Hodges would make his CFL debut. Evans finished the season with 108 completed passes for 1,279 yards with five touchdown passes and nine interceptions. The Redblacks finished the season with only three wins, finishing last in the East division, missing the playoffs in the process.

During the offseason the Redblacks signed veteran Jeremiah Masoli to be the team's starting quarterback. Masoli started the first four games of the season before suffering a bone injury in his leg which would cause him to miss an extended period of time. Three days later the Redblacks traded for quarterback Nick Arbuckle from Edmonton to compete with Evans for the starting role while Masoli recovers. Evans started the next five games for the Redblacks, however the team's record fell to 1-8, which prompted head coach Paul LaPolice to announce Nick Arbuckle as Ottawa's starting quarterback for the club's Week 12 match against the Edmonton Elks. Serving as the team's short yardage quarterback Evans surpassed hall-of-famer Doug Flutie setting a CFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback with 15. With the playoffs out of reach, Evans was named the team's starting quarterback for the final game of the regular season. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 14, 2023.

Montreal Alouettes (II)

On February 14, 2023, it was announced that Evans had signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes.

CFL career statistics

Personal life

Evans was born in Mansfield, Texas to parents Efrem and Kim Evans. He has eight siblings, including Jerod Evans, who played quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and Lance Evans, who played wide receiver for the Texas A&M–Commerce Lions.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Caleb
Living people
1998 births
American football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football quarterbacks
Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players
Montreal Alouettes players
Ottawa Redblacks players
People from Mansfield, Texas
Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas
Players of American football from Texas