POCATELLO — It was easy to spot Evan Ames as he roamed the middle of Highland’s defense in 2019, racking up 79 tackles and 4 1/2 tackles for loss as a linebacker.

He was harder to notice on special teams, where he played one of the most underappreciated and forgotten positions.

Idaho State saw him, though, and offered Ames a preferred walk-on spot on its football team as a long snapper.

The Highland senior celebrated his commitment to ISU on Tuesday at Highland, becoming the third class-of-2020 Rams standout to commit to the Bengals.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always dreamed about going and playing college football,” Ames said. “The opportunity for me to stay here at home and be able to do that is big.”

Ames was crucial on Highland’s special teams last fall, helping punter Jayden Bell — also an ISU commit — and kicker Ian Hershey earn first-team all-state accolades.

He’ll try to provide some stability at that spot at Idaho State, which has shuffled through long snappers in recent seasons.

“As a kicker, timing is everything, and so when you have a good snap and a good hold, usually you have success from that,” Highland defensive coordinator Nick Sorrell said. “Three points, extra point, good punt, pin them deep, so then our defense can take over and hold them back down there.”

Ames started long snapping in little league and stuck with it, realizing the opportunities that could arise.

Ames said he’ll grayshirt in 2020, meaning he’ll enroll in school at ISU but won’t join the team until the winter semester of 2021.

After that, he’ll try to solidify his spot at long snapper while working in at other positions and try to earn a scholarship.

“Through high school, I was told to continue the skill because it can take you far and can open other doors for me,” Ames said.

Ames, Bell and senior defensive lineman Kamiah Olsen are headed to ISU for their college ball, and other Highland football players have committed to various programs this winter.

The Rams’ program is known for churning out college talent, and Ames was another beneficiary.

“I’m thankful for everything that happened up here at Highland and I think that they opened a lot of doors for me,” Ames said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”