Neal Hosts Irish Staff
Thursday, 19 January 2012 22:29 Bryan Driskell
Davonte Neal’s (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral) busy week continued this evening as the four-star athlete hosted coaches from Notre Dame and Ohio State. Tomorrow Neal leaves for Fayetteville, Arkansas to take his third official visit to see Arkansas, so his busy week is just beginning.
Neal hosted Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly as well as receivers coach Tony Alford and cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks.
“They brought three coaches with them, Coach Alford, Coach Cooks, and of course the big man (Kelly)," Neal said with a chuckle.
“It was a good visit for Notre Dame,” he said of his hour long meeting with the Irish staff members. "It was a good visit talking to those guys. It certainly helped the program because I got to know a lot more about them.”
According to Neal there was nothing new or revelatory about the visit with either staff. It was simply an opportunity to learn more about each school and continue to build a relationship with the staff.
“We pretty much talked about a lot of stuff, the stuff we are going over now is the stuff they have brought up before,” he explained. “It’s just a recap.”
The message from the Irish coaches has been consistent from the beginning, and it is one the Neal family finds intriguing.
“A big part of (my decision) is academics, they sell that very well,” Neal continued, explaining the message he is getting from the Notre Dame coaches. “That’s one thing they are selling the most.”
Academics will be a major factor in his ultimate decision, as will the relationship he is building with each staff.
“Academics is number one because I want to get a good education and have my education take me somewhere further than football,” Neal said of what matters most to him as he works through his ultimate decision. “Chemistry between the coaching staff and players is also important. How the players get along with each other and bond together.”
Building those bonds will be important to Neal. He wants to attend a school that is more like a family than anything else.
“If I get hurt I want to be somewhere where I am comfortable,” continued the four-star athlete. “If I’m comfortable around them I have someone to talk to, it’s like a second family.”
Obviously Neal is looking forward to excelling on the field, but he believes that football will largely take care of itself. He will consider the different systems and schemes each program runs, but ultimately that will not have as large of an impact on the decision he eventually makes.
That does not stop each school from going over with him how they see him fitting into their program on the field. Notre Dame continues to make clear how they see Neal.
“They want me to come in and play slot,” Neal said of the Notre Dame message. “Pretty much when I come in I would decide on my own my future and what I want to do as far as getting on the field.”
Neal excelled as a wide receiver, running back, and defensive back on Chaparral High School’s state championship team. He is willing to play both at the next level, but the Irish are the only program to bring up the potential of playing both at the next level. That is a possibility that Neal finds attractive.
Despite the fact National Signing Day is just two weeks away Neal is still somewhat in the early stages of his recruitment. As has been noted before he does not plan on signing his letter of intent on February 1.
“I’m still in the information gathering process,” Neal said, noting he is not feeling any pressure about making a decision. “We are still getting to know the coaching staffs a lot better. I don’t feel like I know everything right now because it’s still early in the process.”
Neal leaves tomorrow to head to Arkansas and will make a trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina the following weekend for a visit with the Tar Heels. His final visit will be to Arizona the weekend of February 10.
After that trip Neal will sit down with all the information he has gathered and make a final decision.
