How 2022 LSU Football Target Curtis Neal's Recruitment Went Viral After Clever Social Media Post
When 2022 defensive tackle Curtis Neal sent out the tweet, he had no idea it would go viral. It all started when friends and family started asking Neal "when are you going to release a top-10, a top-five?"
The offers continued to pour in and the questions remained to be asked so Neal thought he'd have a little fun.
"I announced a couple of days prior that I was going to release a top-five," Neal said. "Everyone was hyped for it so I hit up the editor for the graphic and told him the plan."
Instead of releasing a top-five schools, like most had anticipated, Neal decided to drop a top-five on his favorite restaurant chains.
The tweet took on a life of its own, garnering over 51,000 likes and attracting responses from well known companies like Zaxby's and Dicks Sporting Goods. Even late night SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt chimed in.
"In a couple of hours, it started going viral, my phone went crazy but it was a fun experience," Neal said. "I just thought it would be funny to drop a top-five food places in North Carolina so I did and I guess everybody liked it."
What the tweet does more than anything is show the kind of personality that Neal possesses. But it also shows the climate of recruiting these days and how social media plays a prominent part.
While he certainly is taking his recruitment seriously, at the end of the day, he wants to have some fun along the way.
The William Amos Hough High School product has picked up offers from elite programs like Alabama, Oregon, Auburn, Georgia, USC, Texas A&M and LSU. Neal said he doesn't know if he wants to start cutting down his list any because he simply doesn't know if more offers could be on the way.
He still has plenty of time to think about what teams stick out to him but that LSU offer, which came in two weeks after the Tigers national championship win, particularly left Neal in a state of euphoria.
"I just remember the phone call and me crying, I was just so excited," Neal said. "I was in class and my coach told me that somebody from LSU wanted to speak to me. I was just filled with so much excitement and I could barely finish the call."
Neal said the Tigers coaching staff thanked him on the call for producing so much great film and that it made the decision to offer him all the more simpler. While the Tigers can't reach out to Neal as he's still only a sophomore, Neal does receive mail from LSU on a weekly basis so he knows the interest level is extremely high.
Currently ranked as the No. 12 defensive tackle in the 2022 class according to 247Sports, Neal said specifically the LSU staff was impressed with his high motor and that he's extremely quick off the ball.
During the season, Neal really felt that his sophomore film showed a growth in his overall game. Whether it was attacking with his hands, displaying an improved variety of moves at the line of scrimmage or improved quickness, these were all traits that stand out in Neal's mind which has led to so much attention on the recruiting trail.
"A lot of players just like to bull rush but I know that I'm not going to be able to just bull rush at the next level," Neal said. "So I really made it an emphasis to be just as good with my spin move, swing and the rip. During the offseason I've been trying to improve on my flexibility because I think I'm a little stiff and so I'm continuing to work with the best and soak up all the knowledge for the next stage in my career."
The 6-foot-1, 305-pound Cornelius, North Carolina native was able to follow LSU's national championship season from a distance, even going to the Tigers' 46-41 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, as a Crimson Tide recruit.
One of the postgame videos to go viral after that win was the LSU players running over to the recruiting section and telling all of the Alabama recruits to head to Baton Rouge.
Neal was a part of that group and he actually drove to Tuscaloosa with the man that took the video, Byron Ruff.
"That was really funny, for them to come over like that after the way they had just performed so that was a really cool moment," Neal said. "I really just remember them dominating everyone. It was really fun to watch them every week and it really looked they were just having the best time out there."
While he's never been on LSU's campus before, he is hoping to make a trip in the fall to see what the campus is like and maybe even catch a game.
"If I decide to play for the Tigers, that would be amazing," Neal said. "I would be playing behind so many great football players and playing with amazing football players, it would be so fun. The coaching is great, which you can tell from just watching and so it'd be a great learning experience as well, a place where I could really develop on and off the field."
