Omari Evans’ grandmothers have had a pretty big impact on his life.

The Killeen Shoemaker standout’s maternal grandmother helped foster his love for animals, inspiring him to join a vet program as he considers pursuing a career as a veterinarian.  At one point, she even built a chicken coop in her garage to care for six chickens that Omari’s brother bought at a pet supply store.

“When I was a little kid, I liked animal a lot,” Evans said. “My grandma used to have a lot of pets, and I’d always be around them. I just like working with pets.”

And then there’s his paternal grandmother who is with him in spirit. Evans said that she is on his mind every time he steps out onto the football field.

“[She’s] what I always think about when I need some motivation,” Evans said. “She had died because of cancer in 2009. I remember we used to take walks and just talk.”

Playing in her honor, Evans has found plenty of success all over the football field for Killeen Shoemaker.  He played quarterback and wide receiver his sophomore year on varsity before moving to defensive back a year ago because there wasn’t a starting spot available for him on Shoemaker’s senior-heavy offense. This season, he is expected to be back at quarterback for the Grey Wolves.

That versatility and athleticism has caught the eyes of schools at the next level as Evans, ranked as the 98th overall recruit in Texas in the Class of 2022 by DCTF, reportedly has 25 Division I offers, including 15 from Power Five programs.

This summer, Evans has made official visits to Rutgers and Vanderbilt in addition to unofficial stops at TCU, Houston, Baylor and Penn State. In the fall, Evans said that he plans to visit Penn State and possibly Rutgers again as well as Indiana.

“It’s been going good,” Evans said of the recruiting process. “I think I still have better and more, but it’s all good.”

Evans said that his dream school to be offered by would be Ohio State, which would take him back to his home state of Ohio. His father, brothers, and members of his extended family all still live in Sandusky, Ohio, while Evans lives with his mother and sister in Texas. They moved to the Lone Star State when Evans was in the seventh grade as his mom pursued better job opportunities and he searched for better opportunities in football.

And while he has excelled playing at several different positions under the Friday Night Lights, he plans to settle down at receiver in college. He said that each of his top seven schools that he plans to release on August 1 will be schools that offered him at the receiver position.

But before transitioning to receiver full-time, he will have one last season at quarterback, seeking to replicate the exploits of the person that inspired him to pursue college football in the first place.

“In fifth or sixth grade, when I saw Johnny Manziel, I wanted to go to Texas A&M and play quarterback,” Evans said. “That’s when I started wanting to play in college.”

With the keys to the Grey Wolf offense in his hands this season, he knows he still has some work to do as he looks to lead Shoemaker to its third-straight playoff berth after it finished second in District 12-6A with a 7-3 record a year ago.

“I hope we make it to the playoffs,” Evans said. “I just got to get my reads down and my throwing a little bit better, and we’ll be good.”

With his explosive speed, including a 10.8 second 100-meter dash, Evans will be a dual threat from the quarterback position. He also runs track for the Grey Wolves and notched a sixth-place finish in long jump at the UIL state meet in May as well as a third-place finish on the Killeen Shoemaker 4X200 relay team.

“Long jump is fun,” Evans said. “[Track] is just running, so it’s not that hard. It got me faster for sure.”

But with 20 out of 25 of his Division I offers coming from out of state, there’s a chance that Evans could well take his blistering speed outside the state of Texas at the next level. Yet even if this is his last season in Texas, Evans is thankful for the six years he has had to play and develop in the talent-filled Lone Star State.

“It’s been great,” Evans said. “It’s just faster down here in Texas, and I’m fast, so I just adapted to it and it was easy for me.”