The University of Louisville has an impressive stable of running backs this season, and could be one of the most talented groups in the country.

The Cards ended the year with a lot of promise in the backfield, but that was magnified with the addition of Tennessee transfer Tiyon Evans,

Returning from a season ago are Jalen Mitchell, who led the team with 722 yards, Trevion Cooley, who ran for over 400 yards in his true freshman season, plus speedster Jawar Jordan, who returned a kickoff for 100 yards in the bowl game loss to Air Force.

Louisville added Evans, who led the Volunteers in rushing last year.

Evans rushed for 525 yards on 81 carries for six touchdowns in seven games for the Volunteers last season. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound back arrived in Louisville prior to spring practice and has the ability to be the featured back.

"I had a pretty good transition," Evans said following the team's Friday morning practice. "When I first got here, it was pretty rough trying to get the signals and all that and get the last playbook out of my head but now we seem pretty good. I love the family culture, and we've just been grinding. So, we have big expectations for sure."

Evans joins a running back group that can go four deep, and each can offer a different running style.

"The mantra that we have right now is we all feed off each other," Evans said. "We all know that we can play so we're not really worried about that right now. All we worry about is everybody making sure that we have a job and just stay on the course. We're not trying to think too much. At the end of the day, it's just football."

Evans' college career has had plenty of ups-and-downs. It began in 2019 at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College. He produced a stellar freshman season. He rushed for 538 yards and 10 touchdowns to help the program to a 10-win season. Then the entire 2020 junior college season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. At Tennessee, he dealt with injuries and entered the transfer portal prior to the season ending.

"I try not to let any of that get to me, for real," Evans said. "I've done had a lot of obstacles in my life and I've come back from those obstacles. So, I just look at it like, don't let it high be too high and don't let the low be too low. Everything happens for a reason. So, we just put that in the back and just use that as motivation."

"If I was to be honest, whenever, like before I had my son, I was just really playing football because what it could do for my family and the passion that I had for it because I come from poverty," Evans said. "So, if my school is getting paid for and all that, of course I'm going to give my all. But whenever I had my son, it kind of changed my focus. It lets me know that I'm trying to make sure I do everything possible in my way, so my son doesn't have to grow up like I did."