SI All-American Candidate Devin Neal Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: RB Devin Neal
Projected Position: Running Back
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-11, 208 pounds
School: Lawrence (Kan.)
Committed to: Kansas
Frame: Compact and well-developed. Good width across shoulders, chest. Long, muscled arms. Tightly-wound, powerful thighs and trunk. Room for more mass, but likely plays below 220 pounds.
Athleticism: Outstanding sense of balance. Runs with strength, power. Above-average long speed; reaches fifth gear in a hurry. Quick, light feet, with loose hips. Very good hand-eye coordination.
Instincts: Excellent vision and overall creativity with ball in hands. Sees and creates holes, cutback lanes most runners can’t. Can make defenders miss utilizing hard cuts and skinny hips/shoulders with equal ease. Lowers shoulder in hole to bowl over smaller defenders. Natural pass-catcher; goes outside body for catches, quickly regains balance for YAC.
Polish: Clean, consistent footwork and technique at exchange. Versatile; comfortable running inside tackles, outside numbers. Accomplished receiver, but needs to expand route tree, route-running nuance. Largely unknown as blocker, though has tools to thrive.
Bottom Line: Neal, who will also play baseball in Lawrence, possesses budding star power Les Miles and the Jayhawks desperately need. Likely sees the field his true freshman season, perhaps emerging as a first-year feature back. Lacks degree of top-tier speed and elusiveness, but has overall athletic package befitting potential NFL draft pick.