Who is Evan Hull and how will he fare in a deep Colts running back room?

The Indianapolis Colts selected Northwestern running back Evan Hull with pick No. 176 in round five of the 2023 NFL Draft. How will he fare for Indy?

With a backfield that consists of Jonathan Taylor and then others like Deon Jackson and Zach Moss, is drafting another running back smart? Could that pick have been used for another player instead? When the Indianapolis Colts made the selection at No. 176 in the fifth round, you might have actually been asking yourself, Who is Evan Hull?

That's a very fair question, considering he was under the radar for so long during the draft process. The draft primarily featured guys like Bijan Robinson (Falcons), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions), and Zach Charbonnet (Seahawks) so you likely haven't heard much about Hull unless you're a big Northwestern fan.

Members of sports blogs and podcasts got to sit down (virtually) with Evan on Friday for an interview to really get to know who he is and why he fits in Indy.

The running back that stands at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft and Colts Associate Director of Pro Personnel, Kevin Rogers spoke very highly of him. When I asked Rodgers who were his favorite steals in the later rounds, one of three players he mentioned were Hull.

Rogers stated that he was very excited to draft Hull this year and that he has really good third-down ability. That's going to be imperative when it gets late in a game and you need that first down in short yardage and don't want to continue putting your superstar through the trenches.

Evan Hull talks about what he can bring to the Colts

When the group asked Evan what is his mentality for the game, his answer was short, yet very effective. "I will not be denied." It appears that Evan has a great mentality for the game being a bit of an underdog at the moment with a superstar in the same workroom as him. When asked about that crowded backfield more, Hull could not say enough that he has a personal goal to be the best in the league and have a long career.

Working with veterans like Taylor is only going to propel his career upwards as he plans to mentally be a veteran as quickly as he can to keep his progress moving in this league. That's something you hear often by rookies, but you can tell Evan truly means it.

Hull was known during the draft process to not stop when a play was dead. Most players will run 10 to 15 yards after a play or just get through it and quit. Hull was a force and played through every whistle with determiniation and explosion.

"When you touch the ball, go score." Something that was said on the practice field a lot to the running back group at Northwestern. That's one quote that has really stuck with Hull so far in his young career. That has set the mark for him and he proves it every single day.

We've seen the videos of the new rookies getting calls from new teammates, and when I asked Evan who reached out to him after being drafted, he just had a big smile. Adetomiwa Adebawore kept very close contact with him during and after the draft.

The two of them both were drafted by the Colts and went to school at Northwestern. They were both excited for each other and were even more ecstatic when they became teammates again.

Hull has a chance to make the roster this offseason for sure. He will be competing against not only just Zach Moss and Deon Jackson, but also Jake Funk and fellow rookies Darius Hagans and Titus Swen.

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