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A video filled with highlights of Derek Evans pulling from his right guard position and delivering perfectly timed blocks for the Alcoa High School football team apparently made an impression on Army's coaching staff.

So, too, did a few glimpses of the fullback who seemed to be trailing Evans as a lead blocker in every clip.

Evans and teammate Taharin Tyson, rising seniors for the six-time defending state champion Tornadoes, both received scholarship offers Thursday from the Black Knights.

Taharin Tyson

It was the first Division I offer for the 6-foot, 225-pound Tyson, a Class 3A all-state selection by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association last season. Evans recently had picked up his first offer from Virginia Military Institute, a Football Championship Subdivision member.

Tyson, who rushed for more than 800 yards as a junior, was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. He had been pursued by a number of Division I schools, including Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky, for more than a year.

Until Thursday, Army wasn't one of them.

The game film Evans submitted likely made it all possible for both of them.

An Army assistant coach spoke with Evans last month during a visit to Alcoa just before the Tornadoes started spring practice and requested a highlight video from the 6-foot-2, 275-pound guard. The coach later called Evans to say he had received the tape and liked what he saw.

After consulting with the rest of the Black Knights' staff, the assistant coach sent Evans an e-mail telling him that he had good news. Evans called and learned of his offer.

Evans immedately contacted Tyson to tell him about the offer — and to pass along a message from the Army assistant, who wanted to hear from Tyson, too.

Before long, Evans' phone rang. It was Tyson with his own good news.