Coach of new Michigan OT commit Evan Link: 'He's a high quality performer'
Earlier this week, three-star offensive tackle Evan Link became the 13th commitment of Michigan's 2023 class, in a move that saw him shut down his recruitment after attending Sunday's BBQ at the Big House.
Link, out of Washington (D.C) juggernaut Gonzaga College, chose the Wolverines over offers from Penn State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Miami, South Carolina, Florida State, and Kentucky, becoming the second offensive lineman to join the class following the addition of Amir Herring.
At 6-foot-6 and close to 300 pounds, Link is the No. 3 overall prospect residing in the nation's capital and listed in the top 50 among all tackles in the country, per Rivals.com.
Maize & Blue Review spoke with Gonzaga head coach Randy Trivers, who's led the Eagles to two DCSAA state championships in his near decade-long tenure with the program, on Link's potential at Michigan, Sherrone Moore, and why the incoming senior chose the Wolverines.
---
On Link as a student-athlete:
"Evan is high quality. A high quality human being, first off. He comes from a great family. He registers high competence in just about everything that he does. In the classroom, he's outstanding. On the football field, he's outstanding. As a friend, teammate, and classmate, he's outstanding. Evan is a guy who checks off all of the boxes as far as giving you high quality in whatever space that he occupies. Whether it's in the math class, or doing community service, or in the weight room, or on the field, he's a high quality performer. He's an impressive guy."
On Link's biggest strengths on-and-off the field:
"Evan is committed to his craft and is a hard worker. He's also very competitive which comes naturally. He's got that drive that's inside his heart which is good. So when someone else wants to be great, he wants to be even better. We've coached, mentored, and taught him to be great. But he's gotten better at a faster clip because of the self motivation that he possesses. Evan doesn't like to lose. Again, talking about him as a student-athlete, one of the reasons why he provides such quality work is due to his competitive nature. Over time, his development has helped him ascend in relatively short time because of the refusal to lose attitude. Whether it's something academically or athletically, he sense when he's not performing at an acceptable rate, he's going to take that to heart and really figure out he needs to do in order to enhance himself. At Gonzaga, he's been able to be in environments where there's other sharp dudes around him. Athletically, he entered the program and saw how many older offensive tackles who came through and were successful. He learned how they did things and knew that he had to enhance himself in that manner. He's also gone up against quality opponents on a national type schedule and seen how he needs to prepare for that. The competitiveness has really helped him improve from a freshman who wasn't as big and powerful and agile to who he's become today. I think that's certainly merited his trajectory."
On Link's recruitment process:
"Evan was very thorough in the process with him and his family looking for schools or institutions from a distance, whether it was through telephone calls or any type of virtual contact. That's along with getting on those campuses. In the last several months, he did a good job in getting a feel of what he was looking for in a school. He's not the type of guy who wanted to take it to the traditional National Signing Day period and have five hats sitting in front of him. That's not his style. So he felt like he did a thorough job in that search. There's obviously a fun and exciting part of the process but it also requires knowing that it takes a lot of time and effort. It's nice for Evan though that he got the information needed to shut things down, knowing where he wanted to be, and now be able to focus on being a student-athlete during his senior year. Had he not been thorough in the process, he probably would keep investigating. But he did a good enough job of that so he can enjoy the senior experience. So the timing wasn't a shock to me because of knowing Evan's thoroughness. That's what led to me feeling that it wasn't a surprise."
On the job Michigan did in recruiting Link:
"The Michigan staff did a really nice job in recruiting Evan. He was able to get on their campus a couple of times. So clearly, they did a nice job in connecting with the entire family. Coach Moore has been probably the most influential in terms of connecting with myself and getting out here. But that goes for the entire staff as well like coach Bellamy and coach (Jim) Harbaugh. They did a nice job because Evan and his family are thorough. They weren't going to pick a school based on colors or the conference. It went deeper than that. They really investigated well. So the Michigan staff did a nice job in presented what they could offer to Evan and show that they could meet his needs in a number of ways."
On what set Michigan apart from Link's other offers:
"The Michigan brand speaks for itself. Their tradition is extremely powerful and strong. There's a certain number of universities where you hear their name and it sparks a certain response. Michigan is one of those unique schools in that way. You couple that with the people in the program and you have something. A guy like coach Moore for instance, he did a nice job in representing the brand and connecting with Evan in order to make that union possible. Michigan will always be able to walk into most high schools and senses will be alerted. It also certainly opens the door for others at Gonzaga to have those same opportunities should good things happen with Evan."
On Sherrone Moore:
"It ultimately comes down to the people who own a certain quality behind closed doors . I think coach Moore is impressive in that way. He's a good person and a good communicator. When you have the ability to connect well with people but also make the effort to have it work is a good combination. That's the case in this instance, of course, with coach Moore and Evan."
On Links's potential while at Michigan:
"Offensive linemen needs to be intelligent and Evan is an intelligent guy. He'll pick up the system (at Michigan), learn it, and adopt the fundamentals that are hearkened back to the players. From a mental standpoint, o-linemen are so cerebral, and Evan will definitely bring that to the table. From a physically standpoint, he's a dawg who will bite, isn't afraid to mix it up, roll up the sleeves, and have the grit to fight against the physicality in the trenches. Of course, he will have some things that will need to be improved on, as a freshman at Michigan. He won't be the full package at 18 years old but I know that he has the tools and intangibles that will make for an outstanding football player at Michigan."
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @BrandonJustice_, @ZachLibby, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @DanielDash_, @StephenToski, @Baird_CJ, @JimScarcelli, @DavisMoseley, @lucasreimink, @ritchietmr
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram