 Hey, what's up you guys? What is going on? And welcome back to another Rugby Player Reacts to something video. I've got a handy dandy notebook here, and I've got a list, a quick list that I just jotted down yesterday of the videos that we're going to be reacting to over the next couple of days. As you can see I've got pink here. Once again another dare from my sister. She was shaving my head. I said take it all off. She left the top and hid the clippers. So I thought you know what? It's about time we do something different so I put some pink through it. With that being said, in the previous video guys you would have seen me react to punters and kickers from Prokick and also I did a special on a guy, Finn Rudd, who is a fellow cantabrian, a fellow Kiwi. He's just signed for the University of California Davis Campus as a punter on a four-year scholarship. So well done. The next guy I want to look at is similar age from New Zealand and he's just done the exact same thing except he went through Prokick and lo and behold in the last week he's announced that he's signed a four-year full ride scholarship with the University of Indiana and that is absolutely incredible. So today's video is going to be dedicated to my fellow Kiwi, James Evans, who will be the punter at the University of Indiana and who came across my TV screen about a week ago. The New Zealand media, I've got to give them credit. They covered the story of both these athletes as they signed their scholarship deal so if I wasn't doing these reactions, if I didn't have any interest in American football and I had have watched that, maybe that would have began my journey, you know, you never know. So credit to the New Zealand media following these guys' journeys and spreading it around the nation because we need feel good stories man, we really do. So with that being said, let's get into it. James Evans. Today's video is about learning as much as I can about the guy, getting my head around his journey and wishing him luck, giving him a bit of exposure on this channel and getting behind my fellow Kiwis. So with that being said, let's go. I knew a James Evans at high school, but it wasn't this guy. James Evans, James Evans, American football, the number one running back class of 2022. Well it's not Mike Evans, James Evans Pro Kick. Let's have a look. No, really? Let's go Google. James Evans, American football, am I spelling it right? There he is. Oh, what is si.com? Oh mate, look at him. He's all over the internet. What a bloody legend. Like seriously, James, okay, James Evans, how are we going to get some information on this guy? We're going to have to go to his, we're going to have to go back to Instagram. Have a look at Pro Kick and here we go. Okay, there we are. Okay, so we've got his Instagram page, which is not very detailed, but that's okay. James Evans, punter, college football. Oh yes, I believe we've got the original news story, which I was really hoping we'd be able to find. I never actually watched that full story, so that's going to be interesting. Okay, 24 7 Sports. We'll have a look at that one. Let's go Text. TVNZ, yep. Auckland Teens, prodigious kicking, earned some in America. James Evans has a boot so prestigious. Really? This guy, James Evans, got an absolute canon of a boot. Is he going to be the next Michael Dixon? Oh my god, I've got to get my head around this. James Evans College Stats, we'll open that one. Hoosahuddle.com. We'll open that one. We've got another one from Hoosah. Look at all these stories, bro. Newsbreak.com. Idsnews.com. Hoosatimes. TVNZ. Fucking hell. We're probably going to see a lot of the same information, but the first thing we're going to do is just once again just read through his post here. James put this up five days ago. Hugely excited to announce my commitment to play football and study on a full scholarship at Indiana University. Thank you to Coach Tigardin, Coach McKenner and me, and Coach Ellen for providing me with this amazing opportunity. Massive thank you to John Smith and Nathan Chapman of Prokook Australia. Bloody legend. All right, we're not going to have any highlight clips, but what we do have is a news report. And there he is now. It's only a minute and nine seconds long. Yeah, I guess. We're waiting for it's like a 45 yard, 4.5 pump. A 45 yard, 4.5 pump. What's this? What's this video? Holy shit, that is a boomer. So is that. These are some freaking cool clips, man. We're going to watch them all. We've got a two minute video back in November of 2019 talking about James Evans. And we've got a 38 second clip from Indiana. That's going to be talking about that too. Okay, we've got a whole collection of clips here now guys. Let's get into it. All right, we'll watch this one first. Yeah, I guess we're waiting for it's like a 45 yard, 4.5 pump. Those balls are probably somewhere on the big end of my kicks. I think the biggest punt I've heard on film is 5.38 seconds of hang time. Brilliant game. You're just looking to be consistent and hitting like 4.5 seconds so that gunners can get downfield and cover the kick. It's exciting though. It's really, really exciting. Like every stadium in the Big Ten aside from one, there's 14 schools of stadium being in Eden Park. So like man, it's crazy to think about, but I guess that's just the scat of things over there. That's exactly my reaction when I first heard that college football stadiums or some of them had even more seats in them than some of the professional stadiums. Okay, so he's talking about Eden Park. Eden Park is the biggest rugby stadium, biggest capacity rugby stadium in New Zealand. And rugby is our national sport. And I think Eden Park might hold 60,000. And let me just see. This is going to blow me away. I know it. Indiana football stadium. The Indiana Hoosiers Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Bloomington, Indiana is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Indiana Hoosiers. Okay, so let's imagine you're James. Okay, he's just signed on the dotted line and you've got to think, okay, this stadium is going to be packed out. Big rivalry game. I haven't seen it yet. I don't know how many people are in it, so let's have a look now. 52,626 people. The stadium opened in 1960. It replaced the original Memorial Stadium built in 1925, a 20,000-seat stadium located on 10th Street. A 36x91 foot, 28 meters HD scoreboard from Daktronics was added to the South End zone for the 2010 season, which is the 29th largest collegiate scoreboard in the country. How fucking cool is that? You bastard. All right, let's kick it off. Like, yeah, I think there's three schools also. Hero Stadium and the big team aside from one, there's 14 schools of stadium being in Eden Park. So like, man, it's crazy to think about, but I guess that's just the scale of things over there, you know? Like, yeah, I think there's three schools also in the division. Actually, they have stadiums over 100,000 in capacities. 100,000. I wonder where that was shot. I'll tell you one thing, guys, and one thing only, and I'll shout it from rooftops. I could have created a 10 times better news report than that. There was no narration. There was no highlights. There was no shit from Prokik. There was no interviewing his coaches from Prokik. There was no looking at the university in the States, the one that he's going to be going to. But James, you did well. You answered the questions fantastically. You seemed to be very mature and just excited about your journey. So I want to say good luck. Now, let's continue. That news report was fucking terrible. Okay, here we go. The Indiana football... So this is from Hoosestateofmind.com. The Indiana football team picked up a commitment earlier this week from Punter from New Zealand in James Evans. Hooses again continue to bring in recruits despite being on quarantine and this time they looked outside the country. On Sunday, James Evans, a punter from New Zealand, posted on his Twitter page that he accepted a scholarship offer from the Hooses, from the Hoosiers. Evans is an Australian-style punter. The fuck does that mean, mate? He's a New Zealand punter. And if you're talking about a rugby-style punk, rugby's New Zealand's national game. It's not Australia's national game. Anyway, Evans is an Australian-style punter that will join the Hoosiers in 2021. He trains at Pro Kick Australia, which is where current IU punter Hayden Whitehead is from. Whitehead has been very good for the Hoosiers. And Indiana thought, why not go back and get another punter? He will be a senior this year and the Hoosiers needed a punter in the 2021 class and that is exactly what they got with James. Australian-style kickers have had a lot of success in the college game and James will hope to duplicate that for the Hoosiers. He didn't have any other offers according to 24-7 spots but getting an offer from the Hoosiers was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Having a fellow Pro Kick alum on the Hoosiers didn't hurt either. He even gave Whitehead a shout out in his Twitter post. Indiana and coach Tom Allen hope they have found a pipeline for punters and have shored up a team need for the 2021 class. Okay, that is absolutely awesome. And we're going to give this story another go if it's the same one. No, it's the same one. Okay. Okay, that's the wrong James Evans. We've got a DB from Buffalo. No, Hoosier-Huddle. Hoosiers land Pro Kick Australia punter James Evans. And there he is. Written by Sammy Jacobs. Tom Allen and special teams coach Casey Tigard and went back to the other side of the globe to find their next punter in Auckland, New Zealand, native James Evans. Evans trained with Pro Kick Australia, a company that helps guide and transition Australian athletes to perform at the college NFL level. And with our natural Aussie instinct of kicking a ball, we're focused on that area. Evans is the seventh commitment in the Hoosiers 2021 recruiting class and would be the natural to take over fellow Pro Kick Australian alum, Hayden Whitehead. James describes himself as more of a traditional pocket punter. Although I'm comfortable with all the different styles of punts, whether it be spirals, rollouts or going in kicks. For many athletes from this area of the world, they've only played Aussie rules football. Bro, you're talking about a New Zealander here. The only American football I've played was in PE class in high school when Danny Hay, now the New Zealand football coach, was my PE teacher. So that will be a big adjustment. Evans has never been to the United States, but has been in contact with Whitehead about what he should expect before traveling to the other side of the globe. I've spoken to Whitehead over the phone a few times and he's been hugely helpful for me in understanding what life as a student athlete will be like. Whether that be expectations both as a student, and as an athlete, but also just what to expect living in a foreign country. I've never actually been to the States, so he's been hugely helpful for understanding what to expect. He's been in coach. James has been in contact with Indiana head coach Tom Allen, as well as special teams coordinator Casey Tagardin, and a special teams quality control coach Jeff McKinnon. Evans told Housia Huddle that he is hugely excited about the opportunity of going to Indiana, not just the chance to play football in the Big 10, but to study at a nationally renowned university. Coach Allen, Coach Tagardin, and Coach McKinnon have been great to me. They've built a very strong relationship with me over the phone, and I'm really excited about the culture and the program they're building at. Oh, yo! Well, Evans awaits travel to the States. He will hopefully enroll early. He will focus on just working on everything, as I feel like the key to being a great punter is consistency. So just getting in repetitions, whether it be punting, holding, or even kicking off, will be huge for me in being best prepared to make the transition. Housias have found gold there before, so why not go back to the Pro Kick Australia well and create a pipeline? Very well written, my friend. Next, the Daily Housia. IU Football Recruiting Class of 21, New Zealand punter James Evans commits to Housias. Indiana needs to replace a fixture at punter, and they are going to the same part of the world to get that done. New Zealand based punter James Evans announced on Sunday morning US time that he had committed to the IU football program in a full scholarship. Evans made the announcement on his Twitter page. Okay, no, we've seen all that. Newsbreak.com, Indiana football. Housias travel far for the next punter. The Indiana football team have picked up a commitment earlier this week from a punter from New Zealand, and James Evans. The Housias again continue to bring in recruits despite being on quarantine, and this time they looked outside the country. We've seen that one. What have we got here? IDS News, Indiana Daily Student News. IU Football earns commitments from receiver Jordan Williams and punter James Evans. There he is, the head coach Tom Allen leads players onto the field August 31st. Two new players, wide receiver Jordan Williams and punter James Evans committed on Friday and Sunday. Williams, a three-star recruit from Westover High School in Albany, Georgia, committed to IU on Friday, and is ranked as number 204 receiving prospect. Evans, a New Zealand native. Thanks for getting that right. Announced his commitment to IU on Sunday and currently trains with Prokik Australia, the same organization that worked with current IU punter, senior Hayden Whitehead. Williams, a six foot one inch, 185 pound receiver. No, we don't want to talk about you. Well, we could, but not today. It appears Whitehead will hand the reins over to Evans as IU's next punter. Entering his senior year, Whitehead has been the punter for the Housiers for three seasons and is a two-time honourable mention all Big Ten selection. Evans said, can't wait to be a Housier come January and follow in the footsteps of the great Hayden Whitehead. And that was quoted from his Twitter page. 247sports.com, Housiers land commitment from New Zealand punter. Interesting. Okay, we've probably read most of this, but there is some information here. When I started with Prokik Australia, Nathan and John asked me what I wanted, what I was looking for in a school. Evans said ideally I wanted to go to a school with both a great business school and a great football program. Indiana definitely surpassed all my expectations. First with the Kelly School of Business and then with the football program playing the Big Ten. Once I got on the phone with Coach Casey to Garden, Coach Ryan McKinney and Coach Tom Allen and got to know them, I knew Indiana was the school for me. The team itself feels like a real family and I think that's shown through the team mantra of Leo. What is the team mantra of Leo? Love each other. Love each other. Fuck, I'd be into that. I'd be into a bit of that. Evans said his decision to play as College Football Indiana is something that has been in the works for a couple of months. Nathan Chapman and John Smith came to me on March 9th. Today's, and he announced it on the 17th of May, so that's about nine or 10 weeks later. Nathan Chapman and John Smith came to me on March 9th and said that they wanted me to go to Indiana. I was on board straight away and from there they had conversations with Coach Allen, Coach to Garden and Coach McKinney. Coach Allen has taken pro-kick athletes in the past with obviously Hayden playing at Indiana at the moment then also Will Gleason when he was at Ole Miss, so that pre-existing relationship made things easier. Towards the end of April, things became done and I gave my commitment on the phone to Coach to Garden about 10 days ago. Can you imagine how exciting that would have been? The way pro-kick Australia handles recruiting is different than how recruiting is typically done in the US and for Evans that meant they really guided him throughout the process and that's what you pay for man, it really is. Not only a physical training but also everything else. Our recruitment process works a lot differently than it does for American high school athletes. Pro-kick coaches don't hoard offers from various schools for each athlete. They try to seek out where they think each athlete will fit and really thrive, whether it be academically, geographically, personality-wise or football-wise. For me, Indiana was the first school that they spoke with about me and right away I was pretty keen on going there. They're definitely more educated than me about schools and places in the US so trusting them and letting them handle things made things easy for me and ensured a smooth process. Even though all his communication with Indiana has been over the phone, Evans said that he's still been able to build a strong bond with the coaching staff. I feel like in a short time I've built a great relationship with Coach Allen and Coach DeGarden. They're both very personable guys and they make me feel right at home. The program is very family orientated, they've made my family and I feel right at home. It's fantastic. After speaking to them, it wasn't a hard decision to commit and I think any recruit in America would find them to not only be great coaches but great people. He's saying the right things, I gotta say. Evans said he has spoken with Whitehead about his time in Bloomington. I've had the opportunity to speak to Hayden a few times over the last couple of weeks. It's been great mentoring me. What else have we got? We hopefully, he's obviously played really well over the last few seasons and I look forward to watching him this upcoming season. From my conversations with the coaches, I know they held him in a very high regard both as a leader and a punter and I think we can expect a huge year from him this year. Evans believes his rugby background will help him make a smooth transition to playing American football. I grew up in Auckland playing rugby. I played as a first five so I handled the kicking duties and that has helped me transition well to the game of American football. Other aspects of the sport such as tackling could come in handy as well and so could the emphasis on strength in the weight room. Evans attended high school at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, New Zealand and he graduated from there back in December. He moved to Australia early this year to begin training for rugby. Holy shit! So he moved to Melbourne in January, got offered something in March and committed in May. That's gotta be one of the fastest journeys I've heard of. He's clearly got the, he's clearly got the boot. He's clearly got the talent. He must have done well academically. He must be a really, really easy fit. How fucking good! James! How old are you man? Are you 18 or 19? God, the world is your oyster. Oh my lord. If only I was 10 years younger. I moved to Melbourne to start training with Prokik at the end of January. Although prior to that I did about four months of training back home. Training with Prokik has helped me a lot. Nathan Chapman and John Smith both do a great job and not only coaching us to be consistent punters, but also in just creating a practice environment similar to what we expect to see in the US. Every training session varies. For example, there are days where we might only get a few kicks with a rush to simulate a game environment. And in doing so, we're forced to take advantage of every opportunity while in a pressured situation. With our weight room work, Dave Tuanevi does a great job in preparing us both physically and mentally for what we'll face in a college weight room. A lot of our training is centered around staple compound lifts, such as the bench press, squat, clean and stuff like that. Evans, who will enroll at Indiana this upcoming January, said this opportunity he has to play college football at a big 10 school is a huge deal for him and for those close to him. This is massive for myself and my family. It's a huge opportunity and something that I've wanted to do since I was 13. A lot of my family and friends have told me they want to come and visit. An interest in custom Indiana football jerseys in New Zealand has definitely increased. I'll be getting one. And then we have it guys. My video reacting to my man from the homeland and new University of Indiana punter, James Evans. I don't want to take up too much more of your time. It's been about a half an hour video. I really hope you've enjoyed these last three videos. We're focused on New Zealand and Australian punters. Specifically James Evans in this video and Finn Rudd, a friend of mine in the previous video. So I want to say good luck to all these guys who've done the hard yards, put in the work and reap the reward. The huge reward. I am so, so excited for each and every one of you guys. You all deserve it. And if you do have any crazy highlight clips or you make a tackle or do a fake punt or something cool, send it through, link me up and I'll put it on the channel. How's that? And with that being said, I'll see you in the next one. Peace out.