Former Charlotte 49ers quarterback Evan Shirreffs found perspective Down Under

When Evan Shirreffs’ college football career with the Charlotte 49ers ended last December, he knew a job somewhere in the business world was next.

But how he would reach that goal, so close with a Masters degree in hand, Shirreffs wasn’t sure about.

It took him a trip to the other side of the world to figure out.

Shirreffs arrived at Charlotte in 2018 as a transfer from Miami, from where he had graduated in three years. He spent most of his two seasons with the 49ers as a backup, but he had his moments. Filling in for injured starter Chris Reynolds in 2018, Shirreffs threw for 631 yards and completed 51.9 percent of his passes in six games.

In 2019, he saw limited action, injuring his shoulder in the third game against Massachusetts. Shirreffs would be out for more than two months, returning for a brief appearance in Charlotte’s regular-season finale against Old Dominion.

But he used the time he was out to think about his future. He knew he would receive his MBA from Charlotte in December, with job offers to follow. But on what terms? He wanted to define them himself.

“College sports are pretty draining,” Shirreffs said. “I loved it, my whole time playing. But it was definitely a grind all year. In my four-and-a-half years playing college football, I probably had 10 days off total. That builds on you and wears on you. You add a few injuries here and there.

“I just needed a break.”

In December, after the 49ers returned from playing in the Bahamas Bowl, Shirreffs figured it out. He decided on a trip overseas, by himself, where he could clear his mind and prepare for whatever would be next.

“I was thinking South America at first, but there’s the language difference,” Shirreffs said. “Europe is more expensive. Then there was Australia, and I thought, why not? So I researched it, planned it.”

Not knowing how long he would stay, Shirreffs bought a one-way ticket, departing Feb. 1.

Shirreffs’ travels took him all over Australia. He spent time in the big cities of Sydney and Melbourne, then to Perth on the country’s west coast. He went skydiving and took a two-day sailing cruise. He visited Fraser Island (the world’s largest sand island), where he drove a Jeep through the woods and on the beach.

“There weren’t many Americans on the west coast,” Shirreffs said. “But I met a bunch of Europeans and people from all around the world. We’d hop on buses and away we’d go.”

Shirreffs saw wildlife up close — kangaroos, koalas and quokkas (a marsupial similar to a wallaby).

There were a few harrowing moments. Staying in a small, boutique hotel that didn’t have an onsite manager, Shirreffs locked himself out of his room, which contained his wallet and phone. Figuring he might have to spend the night on a park bench, Shirreffs finally found the manager.

Mostly, Shirreffs kept to himself, taking in the experiences of a foreign land without the filter of travel companions or technology.

“I didn’t have a phone plan over there, so I’d turn it on a few times to tell my parents I was OK,” he said. “I kept it on airplane mode.”

Shirreffs mainly used his phone to listen to music or to take photos.

“It was refreshing,” he said. “I was missing everything that was going on, for sure. But 50 years ago, people would travel around the world and not worry about talking to everyone all the time.

“So it was nice not to have to check in with everyone. It was nice to live like that, to use as little technology as possible. I felt like a kid again. When you’re a kid, you know how summers used to feel so long? This was like that.

“The biggest thing for me is in our society, social media has an impact with people, especially my age and in college, that they think all that stuff matters. It’s great to be connected and to be with everyone. But then they think that a lot of people’s opinions matter when they shouldn’t. That’s a big thing for me.”

But Shirreffs couldn’t avoid the news that the worldwide coronavirus pandemic was spreading. On March 19 — the day he had planned on visiting the Great Barrier Reef — he returned to his hometown of Jefferson, Ga.

“I was ready to come back,” he said. “I’m the type who has to have something to work for, but it was nice to be a bum for a month and a half. I didn’t have to worry about standards or expectations from other people.”

As Shirreffs wrote in an online essay, “I was simply a kid from America trying to find his way. There was something freeing in that.”

Shirreffs is back in Charlotte, working for a company that offers marketing for small- and medium-sized businesses. He said he wants to succeed professionally, but he’s discovered the kind of path he wants he wants to take. That path led through Australia.

“Everything I do now is pretty much about learning,” Shirreffs said. “Before, it was, what do I need to do to win this game? Or, how do I get an A on this test? Everything was so stressful, working for just the end result.

“Now, it’s not that I don’t care about the end result. Don’t get me wrong. I love succeeding and doing well. In football, we were taught to fall in love with the process. How to do things by not worrying about just getting things done. That way, you learn so much more.”