Early enrollee Ondre Evans of CPA to join Georgia football for Orange Bowl practices

It was important for Ondre Evans to say goodbye to the coaches, teammates, friends and school that helped him to this point.

The four-star defensive back from CPA wanted to make sure he paid proper respect before beginning his college football career at Georgia. Sandwiched between two prayers, Evans got his chance to thank those influential to his rapid rise as one of Tennessee's top high school football recruits.

"Now the fun begins," Evans said.

Evans held a pre-signing ceremony Monday at CPA and will officially sign with Georgia on Wednesday during the early signing period. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back will practice with the Bulldogs for their game against Florida State in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.

"That's going to be a lot of fun, to be down on the field and watch how (Georgia) operates up close," Evans said. "I'm looking forward to soaking that up and then taking that and applying it in the coming months."

Evans 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's the first CPA football player to graduate in December in an effort to get a jump on college football.

"For us, we have to look at what kind of opportunities are we preparing our kids for," CPA coach Ingle Martin said. "If the people, in this case, are signing him and putting him on a team and saying that he's ready, I think it's in (Ondre's) best interest to go ahead and get that opportunity."

The next two weeks will be a blur for Evans who is coming off winning a high school state championship and walking into practice sessions with SEC athletes. The slight tear in his lateral meniscus of his left knee that kept him out of much of Division II-AA playoffs isn't expected to be an issue, according to Evans. He returned to CPA's lineup to help the Lions capture a 35-13 win over Body Buchanan in the title game.

"As soon as I get down there, I'm ready for whatever they have for me," Evans said. "It's going to be some conditioning, weight training, but not too much weights. I don't think they want me to get much bigger. I may put on a few pounds in terms of muscle but they want me faster."

The biggest adjustment will be adapting to college life, the campus, and developing the kind of practice habits that will stand out to Georgia coaches.

"All the colleges want these kids as soon as possible," Martin said. "If there's a chance a kid can help you in the fall, the earlier you get him, the better. So for Ondre to be able to go through a whole offseason, of lifting, running, being a college kid and practices in spring and he's already entrenched when summer comes around, he'll have a huge leg-up in the fall."

Evans' time as a defensive back has been short. He completed only his second year primarily playing cornerback. He admitted he continues to learn the position and part of his learning curve at Georgia will be to develop the skillset to play it consistently well.

"There's still a lot to learn, but I'm just excited to get to it," Evans said. "I think (getting there early) was the best choice for me because it's allowing me to kind of dive into the culture of the program at the end of this season and be ready for next season."

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