You might say Tennessee Titans inside linebacker Rashaan Evans is fast learner. A defensive end in high school, Evans made two position changes at Alabama, then transitioned to the NFL, where he’s one victory from the Super Bowl in his second pro season.

After playing 494 defensive snaps and making 53 tackles for the Titans as a first-round rookie in 2018, Evans played 951 snaps and made 111 tackles as Tennessee qualified for the NFL playoffs in the 2019 regular season.

In the playoffs, Evans has made 17 tackles in two playoff games -- including three in a row in a goal-line stand against the New England Patriots on Jan. 4 -- as the Titans have advanced to Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It’s very, very humbling, a very, very amazing experience for me to know how far I’ve come,” Evans told WPRT-FM in Nashville. “It’s crazy, too, to think that I’ve really only had three seasons at inside linebacker, really, if you want to put it in perspective like that. So to be honest with you, I’m still learning the inside linebacker position as we speak.”

A two-time All-State defensive end at Auburn High School, Evans earned the ASWA Class 6A Lineman of the Year Award in 2013, when Auburn reached the AHSAA state championship game, where it lost 20-3 to Hoover and Evans' future Alabama teammate and 2019 NFL All-Pro Marlon Humphrey.

At Alabama, Evans spent two seasons at outside linebacker before moving to inside linebacker as a junior. As a senior on the Crimson Tide's 2017 CFP national championship team, he received first-team All-American recognition from the American Football Coaches Association.

“Sometimes the guy’s history tells you how they’re going to develop,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said on WPRT-FM’s “Morning Drive.” “Rashaan Evans, in high school, always played with his hand in the dirt. He was like a defensive end. Very explosive, could run, made a ton of plays, all right, so to transition to a standup player -- outside backer is one transition; inside backer is completely another transition. So it took him a while here, all right, to sort of get the system, to feel comfortable, to play with confidence, all right. So I think probably the same thing happened there as he went there in a new system.

“But he is playing phenomenal. You see that burst, the speed, really good tackling, closes on people, doesn’t break down, can play in space, is a good blitzer, can be used as a rusher if you need him to be, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s doing well.”

Rashaan Evans has been playing some incredible football through his first two NFL playoff games. He has been playing aggressive and instinctual, yet very disciplined. Huge part of why we have made it to the AFC Championship game. pic.twitter.com/SQ8inDNTRF — Titans Tape (@TitansTape) January 14, 2020

Evans said he doesn’t doubt he could have made it as a defensive end, although he “would be a lot bigger,” but he thinks the road that led him to inside linebacker was the best thing for him.

“Going from hand in the dirt to outside linebacker is one thing, and then you go to stack backer -- that is two totally different worlds,” Evans said. "It definitely took me some time to be able to understand how to play in space, being able to learn different coverages and different things like that because when you’re rushing and hand in the dirt, they say, ‘You’re going to rush. Go get the ball.’

"But I think that was the best thing for me, that move to stack backer. I got a whole understanding of how defense is played, and I feel like it's made me a better player. Made me the player I am today."

Evans told reporters in the Tennessee locker room this week that he's in the right place to learn.

“I’m learning from guys that have been in the league five-plus years,” Evans said. “I’m learning from guys maybe even younger than me or guys that are around my age. But you kind of just pick different pieces from everybody’s game, and you kind of put it in your own. It kind of makes you more of a complete player. When you’ve got this many smart guys on one team, also with the coaches, all of the years of just knowledge of the NFL, it just makes you a lot better player, and I’m just trying to be a sponge, just soak everything up.”

The Titans and Chiefs kick off at 2:05 p.m. CST Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. CBS will televise the game.

Tennessee defeated Kansas City 35-32 in a regular-season game on Nov. 10, scoring the winning touchdown with 29 seconds to play. Evans made seven tackles in the game and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 53-yard return of a fumble recovery.

“I would say just the fact that you kind of know some of the things they do well, some of the things they don’t do well,” Evans said about facing the Chiefs again. “But I would say, too, there’s pros and cons to it. They know a little bit about you. They know some of the things that you do well and don’t do well, so it kind of goes back and forth. But it’s going to be another exciting game. I’m looking forward to it.”

After downing the Patriots 20-13, the Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens 28-12 on Jan. 11. Tennessee’s victory over the AFC’s No. 1 seed moved the final qualifier for the conference’s postseason field into the title game against the No. 2 seed. After getting a first-round bye, Kansas City overcame a 24-point deficit against the Houston Texans for a 51-31 victory on Jan. 12.

“They have guys all around that whole offense that can make plays,” Evans said, “and like with the Texans game, you’ve just got to make sure that you play four quarters and make sure you don’t give them a chance to come back.”

The Tennessee injury report indicated Evans was a limited participant in all three practices this week because of a foot injury after playing a season-high 74 snaps against the Ravens. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, which indicates it’s uncertain if he’ll play. Players carrying the questionable designation usually play, though. The other injury designations are doubtful, which means a player is unlikely to play, and out.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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