After committing to University of Colorado football, Palmer Ridge quarterback Ty Evans received news that he could take his pledge to the Centennial State one step further.

Evans, the 2017 Colorado Football Gatorade Player of the Year, has won the Gatorade Player of the Year Spotlight Grant, which bestows $10,000 for Evans to donate to the local sports organization of his choosing.

Evans chose the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region. The Tri-Lakes YMCA location in Monument overlooks Don Breese Stadium where he led his team to a perfect 14-0 season and Monument’s first state football title.

“Gatorade is proud to award the Y with a Gatorade Play It Forward spotlight grant on behalf of Ty Evans,” says Forrest Johnson, assistant marketing manager for Gatorade Player of the Year. “The connection and role that the Y has had in Evans’ life truly came through in his essay, and we look forward to seeing the Y continue to positively impact the youth of their community.”

He also awarded the Y an additional $1,000 grant after receiving the Player of the Year honor in December. In total the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region will receive $11,000 from the Gatorade Pay It Forward program.

Evans presented the YMCA with a check for $11,000 on Thursday at the 139th annual YMCA dinner and celebration.

“My athletic career would not be the same without the YMCA,” Evans said. “It means a lot to have a place where everybody and anybody can come together and play and feel alive – because that’s what sports is all about.

“I’m just a skinny kid with a ball and a dream, but it means a lot to be able to share some of my experience with an organization like this. I know it’s not the biggest donor gift you will receive, but it means a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to whoever it helps.”

Each of the nation’s Gatorade Player of the Year honorees are awarded $1,000 to donate to a local sports organization of their choosing, and are then invited to write an essay to Gatorade about why their selected organization deserves more support. One essay is selected per sport to receive the $10,000 Spotlight Grant.

“The Y is extremely proud of being the recipient of the Gatorade Play It Forward Grant,” Boyd Williams, president and CEO of the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region, said in a release. “We are so proud of what Ty has accomplished on and off the field and what we know he is going to accomplish throughout his life. Knowing the Y played a small part in the building of his character is meaningful to our organization.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes the nation’s top high school athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character, according to the website. One award is given in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in each of the 12 sports recognized by Gatorade. Evans received the Colorado Football Gatorade Player of the Year honor Dec. 11, 2017.

As a second-year starter in 2017 Evans threw for 3,659 yards and 42 touchdowns on the way to a state championship.

Through three seasons at Palmer Ridge, Evans has 6,788 passing yards and 73 touchdowns. He is one of the state’s most consistent quarterbacks with a .613 completion percentage and has thrown just 12 interceptions in his career.

Evans is verbally committed to play football at the University of Colorado, and plans to graduate early from Palmer Ridge and start his collegiate athletic career in January 2019.