Reason 5-Star Recruit Zach Evans Bailed on Georgia Reportedly Revealed

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is usually good at this recruiting thing. During the early signing period, Smart secured the services of 5-star running back Zach Evans. But that all changed after a tumultuous senior year at Galena Park North Shore High School, as Evans instead opted to commit to TCU.

Many wondered why Evans would choose to become the first 5-star recruit signing by the Horned Frogs instead of joining a powerhouse in the SEC. As it turns out, Evans based his decision on wanting to stay closer to home due to the death of his grandfather, and so his grandmother can watch his games.

The recruitment of Zach Evans was absolutely fascinating to follow. I think his final decision makes a lot of sense. On the twists and turns that led the 5-star RB to TCU: https://t.co/Q16ZRskp1g
— Max Olson (@max_olson) May 12, 2020

"At the end of the day, I wanted to stay closer to home so that my grandmother could see me play," said Evans, via Rivals.com. "I have a great opportunity to come in and help the team play early. I think TCU can help me get to the next level and get a great education. They had two first-round picks in the NFL Draft this year."

It's certainly a respectable decision by Evans. His biological father wasn't in the picture, so his grandfather, Albert Evans, took over that role. Albert provided for Zach and introduced him to the football. Unfortunately, his grandfather passed away back in 2018, which prevented him from helping Evans in the recruiting process.

Evans' official Georgia announcement was put on hold after news broke that he was sent home from his state championship game due to refusing to hand over his cell phone to his coaches the night before the contest. Additionally, it was discovered that Evans was handed a two-game suspension by the team that season for disciplinary issues.

Reaction to 5-star 2020 RB Zach Evans landing with TCU: https://t.co/4BTbuZzK3z pic.twitter.com/T8zEjXSCRz
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 11, 2020

Smart and the Bulldogs opted to move on from Evans by granting him an "unconditional release" from his letter of intent. After visits with Tennessee and Ole Miss, Evans opted to commit to TCU after having a virtual meeting with head coach Gary Patterson.

While his conversation with Patterson helped, Evans wanted to give his family the luxury of watching him play college ball right in their neck of the woods, and you can't help but respect that.