From his own college football career to coaching at NWOSU, Evans has overcome obstacles and grown stronger as a person
Josh Evans drops back to pass during a game while he was a college football player at Laverne University.
By COLLIN ZINK, Senior Reporter
The University of LaVerne Leopard football team was in trouble.
The team had just beat Cal Lutheran to sweep the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 7-0, the first time the Leopards had done that since 1995. The Leopards were now at the first matchup of the 2015 NCAA Division III Playoffs, facing the St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies.
The starting quarterback and the backup quarterback for the Leopards were done, both injured in the first half of the game. That left Josh Evans, a freshman who had never played in a single game all season, to take command.
With the Tommies controlling the field 21-0 as the second half began, the Leopards intercepted a pass on the opening drive. Then Evans joined the offensive line on the field. He went on to help the Leopards rack up two touchdowns, the first on a pass from Evans in the third quarter and the second from a handoff early in the fourth quarter.
But the effort wasn’t enough, and St. Thomas won the game 57-14.
Evans stats weren’t spectacular — he had 76 yards passing — but he did earn himself a spot as the team’s starting quarterback the next fall and every fall until he graduated. In 2016 he was named the D3 quarterback of the week.
He said he had the opportunity to go overseas to play football after college but chose coaching instead, eventually ending up in Alva at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He was the passing coordinator in 2021. He also earned his master’s in adult education management and administration in December 2021.
FINDING HIS CALLING
Coaching has become his passion, Evans said, and he wants to be a coach that helps maximize his players’ potential. He said he looks up to several people who have helped him on his journey: his parents, his college coach Jeff Magdaleno, former NWOSU coach Anthony Weeden, NWOSU head coach Matt Walter and his former offensive coordinator coach Rich Worsell.
Fellow coach Sebastian Escalante said he likes how Evans has a “positive output about everything in life.”
“I see his positivity every Saturday during football games,” Escalante said.
Evans is the type of guy who will answer any question someone asks him, Escalante said.
Escalante said Evans is at his best when he is on the football field coaching on the sidelines, along with influencing the players.
TAKING THE BLAME
Escalante said Evans has a cool demeanor and maintains it even in the face of defeat. Evans uses loss as a motivation to do better, Escalante said.
Escalante said Evans took the blame after Northwestern’s 73-14 loss to Harding. Evans sits down after a losing game and figures out what went wrong.
The Northwestern News also talked to Evans’ sister, Carly, who said her brother’s attitude is what sets him apart from others.
Carly Evans said her brother has had success big and little things, including football and school. She added that her brother has been though a lot more than the average person.
Their mother was in and out of rehab, and their father had cancer, Carly Evans said. But her brother hasn’t let life’s
challenges keep him from achieving his goals.
“[He has a] determination to get stuff done [and] won’t let anything stop him,” she said. “He’s very driven.”
Keith Wear, the head athletic trainer at Northwestern, said Evans is “always willing to help out” and comes to work with a smile.
Wear said he has seen Evans at his best when he is coaching, especially during practice.
Wear also said Evans was a good athlete in college, and that he does not brag about it.
Evans isn’t just all about football. Caitlin Magdaleno, Jeff Magdaleno’s wife, said Evans has a loving heart.
“Josh is full of great qualities, and he is always going to be a part of our family,” she said. “The way he’s been with our kids has been like an older brother.”
Magdaleno said she admires how Evans faces life’s struggles. When he overcomes a challenge, he comes out stronger – just like when he played college football.
Josh Evans talks to players during a Northwestern football game.
Josh Evans, center, poses for a portrait with members of the Northwestern football team.
Josh Evans gives a signal to players during a Northwestern football game.