Football | 12/27/2023 9:11:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Former Bloomsburg Husky great Jahri Evans is one step closer to enshrinement In Canton, Ohio, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he was named one of the 15 modern-era player finalists for the Class of 2024.
 
Announced by the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, December 27, Evans is a finalist for the first time in his second year of eligibility. He joins Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Willie Anderson, Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, Rodney Harrison, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andrew Johnson, Julius Peppers, Fred Taylor, Reggie Wayne, Patrick Willis, and Darren Woodson on the ballot for the Class of 2024.
 
From the Pro Football Hall of Fame, comprising the Class of 2024's Modern-Era list of candidates are nine players who reached this stage in the selection process when the Class of 2023 was chosen, two players in their first year of eligibility, and four players who are Finalists for the first time after a combined 40 years of eligibility. 
 
The slate of candidates in the Modern-Era Player category will be considered when the Hall of Fame's Selection Committee meets prior to Super Bowl LVIII. The Class of 2024 will be unveiled publicly on February 8 during the "NFL Honors presented by Invisalign" broadcast from Las Vegas on CBS Television Network and NFL Network and streamed on Paramount+ and NFL+. The show airs at 9 p.m. ET.
 
Evans was inducted into the Bloomsburg Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. He is also on the College Football Hall of Fame and National Football Foundation Hall of Fame ballots. Evans is a finalist for the NCAA DII 50th Anniversary Gold Award.

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Evans took over as a full-time starter on the Huskies' offensive line in 2003, but it was in 2004 that the awards started rolling in for the left tackle. He was an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) First Team All-American as a junior while earning Second Team All-American honors from the Associated Press and the Don Hansen Football Gazette. Then, as a senior in 2005, Evans helped the Huskies to an average of 284.3 rushing yards per game – eighth-most in the country. He earned First Team All-American honors from five organizations – the AFCA, Daktronics, Don Hansen Football Gazette, Associated Press, and D2Football.com. In his last two seasons, he was also a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, which honors the nation's top lineman in Division II.
 
He earned the Danny Litwhiler Award as Bloomsburg's Male Underclass Athlete of the Year in 2005 and the Robert B. Redman Award as Bloomsburg's Male Senior Athlete of the Year in 2006.
 
Evans was then selected in the fourth round (108th overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the 2006 NFL Draft, becoming the first Huskies player chosen in the draft since 1992. He was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls (2009-14) and was named a First Team All-Pro in four consecutive seasons from 2009-12 while earning Second Team All-Pro accolades in 2013. Evans was also named to the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team in 2006, was a two-time Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award recipient (2009, 2011), and was a member of the New Orleans Saints' 50th Anniversary Team in 2016.
 
In 2008, The Jahri Evans Foundation was created to illustrate to student-athletes that academic excellence paves the way to athletic excellence through encouragement, determination, and hard work. The Jahri Evans Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of youth by improving their quality of education and promoting the overall health, safety, and physical fitness of all children. Evans and his foundation have sponsored free youth football and cheerleading camps each year in Philadelphia, with over 325 youth participating annually. Evans also assists former Bloomsburg assistant coach Brian McBryan at the annual McBryan Clinic, which is designed to give high school offensive linemen the skills they need to succeed.
 
Evans graduated from Bloomsburg in 2007 with a degree in exercise science. In 2009, he established a full scholarship for out-of-state minority students enrolled in Bloomsburg's Master of Science Clinical Athletic Training Program. The Jahri Evans Football Endowed Scholarship was established in 2014 and will carry on forever. Then, in 2017, Evans received his MBA in Executive Business Administration from The University of Miami.