CHARLOTTE "Ask him about his team breakdown," offensive coordinator Brad Idzik laughed, walking away from tight endMitchell Evansbefore the rookie could throw a barb back toward his coach. The team breakdown in question had happened less than five minutes before, following the end of Saturday's rookie minicamp practice, and had quickly become an inside joke amongst the team.

So naturally, Evans had to be asked.

"I didn't think it was anything abnormal," Evans began, defending himself. "I said, 'Keep improving, keep pounding, and together on two; one, two."

When Dave Canales asked Evans to break down the huddle, the Notre Dame product operated on instinct. That was how the Fighting Irish always ended practice, so it's all he knew. There was only one problem; few were prepared for a count that didn't go on three, and even fewer understood the tight end who gave instructions in a typical football growl.

"So, that was on me," continued Evans. "Got to get used to it."

The fact Canales tapped Evans to lead the breakdown speaks to the impact the fifth-rounder made on coaches and teammates in a short amount of time. Whether it's purposely exploring the football hallways to meet new teammates, taking extra time before practice to work with coaches, or keeping the group entertained after practice, Evans stood out during the minicamp without even trying.

He also stood out on the football field as well, reinforcing what Canales and crew saw on tape.

'What carries over from the film is just a really versatile guy," Canales said of the 6-5 258 pound rookie.

"So whether it was the individual drills, going through blocking with Pat, the footwork stuff, you know, and then just being a reliable target, you know, he's a really smooth mover in his routes, plays compact at the top. So I think just all those thingswe just felt like a really well-rounded, clean football player, you know, and certainly fits into what we do."

Over the last two years of his four at Notre Dame, Evans picked up 72 receptions for 843 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 12.2 yards per catch during that time. Now, he brings that production to Charlotte, where he found a playbook that he feels is tailor-made for his skill set.

"I think we're very versatile, you know, we do a lot in this offense," Evans said. "We're not just blocking, we're not just pass catching, we're doing it at all. There are a lot of different moving elements to this offense. It's very complex in a good way, and I think we do it all, so this is a very good offense to be a tight end."

And a tight end, Evans will be, but he brings a background as a quarterback to the position. He was a passer in high school before a back injury that kept him from twisting to throw too much forced him into tight end his junior year. Despite returning to quarterback as a senior, his tape was enough to draw the attention of colleges.

While at Notre Dame, he was usedalbeit sparingly, but at timesas a quarterback on sneaks and short-yardage plays. Following Friday's practice, Canales had the 40-plus participants in rookie minicamp separate into offense and defense to test their ability on the QB accuracy net drill.

"I got to say, (Mitch) made the only one of the whole group," shared Canales. "We're excited about Mitch; he's a fantastic athlete."

Despite showing off his skills, Evans hasn't started campaigning to be used on fakes just yet. For now, he's focused on becoming the tight end the Panthers need him to bebut the idea is still there.

"I'm going to let the coaches do their own thing and then just keep doing my own thing and just keep trying to get better every single day and help the team any way I can," promised Evans.

"And if that's doing a trick play where I throw a ball, so be it. That'd be awesome, but we'll see what the coaches have in store."