08: From the Streets to the NFL to Jesus: the Heartening Saga of DeQuin Evans

The Audio

Show Notes

DeQuin Evans started on the streets of Compton as a gang-banger and quickly found himself in juvenile detention. What DeQuin didn’t know is that he was destined to meet someone in that prison that would forever altar the course of his life. That someone? None other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was filming a movie in that same prison. Through one conversation, he inspired DQ (DeQuin’s preferred name) to work hard to achieve something of value in the world. So, in spite of having no football experience, DQ went to work to become a football star and, after a few years of grueling hard work, found himself on a bonafide NFL roster.

But there was still more to his destiny. After a few seasons of putting in his dues on the Cincinatti Bengals’ roster, DQ had the opportunity to be featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks. This seemed like a blessing initially, but as the season was airing, it was announced that DQ had been suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs, or PED’s. As we find out in this episode, the story wasn’t what it seemed like to the average fan and that meant that the magnifying glass of Hard Knocks only amplified the backlash on social and traditional media outlets. Perhaps the worst part was that DQ had to go without a large portion of his seasonal paycheck as a result of his suspension.

Yet, his destiny had one more important development which would reveal itself to be what this entire saga was leading to all along: DQ encountered the person of Jesus Christ and in Him, found the salvation he had been striving for throughout his storied life.

Listen along as you hear about DQ’s hardships as a gangbanger, his encounter with The Rock, the details of his PED use, and finally, his encounter with the Lord of Glory, Himself, Jesus.

Highlights
  • With only a few years of football experience, DQ found himself as the #15 defensive end in college football.
  • DQ's wife is Jenna Evans (née Martin), who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
  • DQ and his wife recently had a baby and before that they fostered his sibling's children.
  • DQ and Jenna gave up a beautiful Florida beach community to live in the rainy (and beautiful!) PNW. DQ recounts it took some convincing for his wife to sign on to moving into a historically rough neighborhood but they ultimately felt God led them there.