Georgia commit Ondre Evans returns from knee injury to help CPA football win DII-AA title

CHATTANOOGA — An MRI exam three weeks ago confirmed that Ondre Evans suffered a slight tear in his lateral meniscus in the left knee. But that diagnosis was a sigh of relief for the Georgia football commit.

Anything worse would have been a season-ender.

Evans suffered the injury in a 42-6 win against CAK in the first round of the playoffs. But he returned to the field Thursday just in time to help CPA capture the program's sixth state championship as it beat Boyd Buchanan 35-14 in the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl Division II-AA title at Finley Stadium.

"The tear wasn't as big as they thought," said Evans, who had three tackles and two pass breakups, one of which nearly resulted in a fourth-quarter interception. "I had a chance to play in three weeks and that was this game."

The four-star defensive back is the No. 1-ranked prospect in Tennessee for the 2024 class, according to 247Sports Composite. He originally committed to LSU in June but flipped his commitment to Georgia last month.

He showed no signs of being hindered by his knee Thursday as CPA finished the season 13-1. It's the second title in the past four years under coach Ingle Martin. 

"This week, leading up to the state championship (game) it was full-tilt," Evans said about his preparation.

He will turn his attention to preparing for a college career at Georgia. He's scheduled to graduate early from CPA and will be leaving for Athens on Dec. 20. In the meantime, he will watch Georgia face Alabama in the SEC Championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday.

"Go Dawgs," Evans said. "I feel like we're going to get the win but I'll be heading down so I can enroll early so I can get there in the spring so I can get some knowledge under my belt. It's a blessing to be able to go to Georgia and it's a good feeling."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.