Utah football rules Rabbit Evans out for season with injury

The 6-foot-1 senior from Jacksonville, Florida, played in 11 games and made five starts in 2024, totaling 34 tackles and one pass breakup while lined up at safety. He previously spent two seasons at the junior college level with Blinn College (Brenham, Texas).

Current NCAA eligibility rules allow student-athletes five years to compete over the course of four seasons. While recent court rulings, like the one involving Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, have challenged JUCO eligibility standards, no sweeping changes have been made yet. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved an extra year of eligibility for student-athletes who previously competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years (including junior colleges) and would have exhausted their eligibility after the 2024-25 season for the 2025-26 season, though the five-year clock still remains.

The 2025 campaign would've been Evans' fourth season of his college football career that began in 2022.

With Evans out, Utah will likely lean on Jackson Bennee, Tao Johnson and Nate Ritchie to pick up the slack in the secondary.

Bennee, who has played on both sides of the ball as a receiver/nickel corner combo, recorded his second interception of the season during the Cowboys game after housing his first pick of 2025 the week prior in the 63-9 victory over Cal Poly.

Still, despite Bennee's production and Utah's impressive numbers against the pass to start the season, the Utes' coaching staff wanted to see more discipline from the secondary heading into Big 12 play. With Evans out for the season, more responsibility will fall on the team's younger and less-experienced defensive backs moving forward.