SOFI DRAFT LAB – Running back Zach Evans' 2023 NFL Draft wait ended when the Ole Miss product was scooped up by the Rams, and after they had traded up to select him.

"It means a lot, man. I mean, it shows how much they believed in me," Evans said after being selected. "I'm ready to get to work. I'm ready to give the team everything I've got. I'm ready to showcase my talents. I'm just real thankful to be here, real grateful."

Evans was so eager and excited when he got the call from the Rams, he almost went beyond telling them he was ready to get to work and get going.

"I really wanted to ask for the playbook," he said.

Multiple familiar faces will be in Los Angeles greeting Evans. Guard Steve Avila, outside linebacker Ochaun Mathis and cornerback Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson all overlapping with him at TCU – where Evans began his college career in 2020 before transferring to Mississippi – and he's close with all of them.

"I actually did my draft training with them boys, so it's meant to be," Evans said. "A reunited thing. I'm excited to go out there, man. This is crazy."

A self-described explosive and bruising runner capable of making people miss every time he gets the ball as a runner or pass-catcher, Evans averaged the 10th-most yards per carry in the FBS at 6.5 in his lone season with the Rebels, also putting up nine touchdowns while rushing 144 times for 936 yards.

His transfer to the program and time there "taught him a lot," he said.

"Majority on my end, it just taught me how to respond to things I can't control," Evans said. "I mean, everything is a lesson, you go through what you go through for a reason. Like I said man, I'm ready to get to work. It's been a long journey for me. I've been praying, I've been staying, I've been training the whole time, and I'm just glad I got the opportunity."