Ty Evans broke down. He couldn’t help it. With tears running down his face and embracing his dad and grandpa, all he could think about was how hard he had worked for this moment.

This wasn’t on the field after the state championship last December – though that did bring tears of joy. These tears came last month in a hotel lobby near Redondo Beach, Calif., after Trent Dilfer informed Evans he’d been named to the Elite 11 finals, recognizing him as one of the 11 best quarterbacks in the country.

Haters, back off.

Too skinny. Only a 3-star recruit. And to top it off, he’s from Colorado – a state whose most recognizable homegrown quarterback teeters between Joel Klatt and Bill Musgrave.

The most common criticisms Evans has been bombarded with since he first strapped on a varsity uniform at Palmer Ridge suddenly no longer mattered. He already committed to play for Colorado next year, and the official offer that arrived from Alabama in early August only strengthened his confidence, but this? This was validation.

“Way back, I just thought I’d be lucky to even get noticed as one of the better quarterbacks in Colorado – maybe get to play at a smaller university,” Evans said. “But I’ve had a chip on my shoulder. These quarterbacks I get compared against are 6-foot-7, built like trucks. But I’ve put in the work, and I don’t back down. If someone thinks they’re better than me, they’re going to have to prove it.”

Chip?

“He has the whole bag on his shoulder,” Palmer Ridge coach Tom Pulford said.

The “haters,” he says, he loves them. Without them, Evans wouldn’t have 6,788 career passing yards and 73 touchdowns. Without them, there’d be no state championship ring. It is a cliché, really: An athlete embracing so-called haters to fuel his success. But in Evans’ case, it might actually be true – and some of that stems from inside his own home with two older sisters who played college volleyball and were never afraid to pick on little bro.

He may be 6-2 now, but it wasn’t too long ago he was the runt of the litter.

And Evans gets it. Look at him. He doesn’t pass the eye test of an elite QB. He’s been trying to add beef to his string-bean arms since he was a freshman and he simply can’t. What he can do is throw a ball 65 yards through the air and hit a receiver in stride. Technique trumps size, and he’ll prove it every time. Related Articles CU Buffs, Pac-12 will play football season in the fall, school and conference announce

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As for being from Colorado, he’s dang proud of it. He says he has no desire of becoming a state legend despite standing 3,778 yards and 41 touchdowns from breaking the state’s career passing records. It is that heritage, though, that made him say, “thanks, but no thanks,” to Nick Saban and hold firm to his commitment to the Buffs.

“I go to camps and people hear I’m from Colorado and they ask me why I’m even here,” Evans said. “Well, let me show you why. … Luke McCaffrey (Valor Christian) is going to Nebraska, Alex Padilla (Cherry Creek) is going to Iowa, I’m heading to CU; we have ballers here, and I want people to recognize that.”

And then there’s the matter of his star evaluation, an ultimately meaningless ranking every prospect covets. Three stars by Rivals.com. Three stars by ESPN. McCaffrey? He’s a four-star recruit. Evans could have been, too, but he chose not to. When it comes to what makes him different than the rest, consider this sign of maturity:

Summer combines high school football players compete in aren’t cheap. Attendance can sometimes be free, but the hotel and flight costs from Colorado Springs to California and the Midwest add up quick, not to mention the unofficial visits to Notre Dame and Arkansas the Evans took last year on their own dime. There’s a credit card in the family’s home dedicated to Ty’s football travel, and he knows mom, a teacher, and dad, a city manager, have to pay that card off.

Calls came from camps this summer proposing all Evans had to do was show up, and he’d get that fourth star.

“No thank you,” Evans said. It wasn’t worth the cost.

He has confidence, not an ego. Ego would want that fourth star. Confidence writes on his bathroom mirror “Why not me?”

Evans may never look the part, and he’ll never change everyone’s opinion about the talent pool in Colorado, but he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks this state has ever seen, one of the 11 best in the country and is going to play college football at the school he grew up loving.

He’s achieved everything he’s ever set out to, and that’s worth crying for.