'12 AZ WR Davonte Neal (Arizona Transfer)

[Sherm Sticky]

I'm telling you guys., Russell has the skills to be a good corner!

 

[NDhoosier]

Neal to corner for 2012 seems pretty likely in my opinion. However, I think his future with ND is on the offensive side of the ball...

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Neal to corner for 2012 seems pretty likely in my opinion. However, I think his future with ND is on the offensive side of the ball...

I can't see them putting him there temporarily and then switching him back to offense. He's too valuable as an offensive playmaker to not have him there asap. Farley and Hardy shore up the CBs for 2012.

 

[Praytorian]

Just trying to remember here how CBK said he can manufacture offense but needed ATHELETES on D.
I'm thinking D would be great for him (IMHO), but I've always been a big defensive fan myself.

 

[NDhoosier]

I can't see them putting him there temporarily and then switching him back to offense. He's too valuable as an offensive playmaker to not have him there asap. Farley and Hardy shore up the CBs for 2012.

why, Kelly has done it with multiple players already. Besides Neal wont get much playing time with Amir, TJ, Toma, and Theo in there at his position. He is only a freshman, he may be explosive but freshman are rarely as explosive as you think Neal will be in 2012. Neal at CB will put a great player on the field and fill a position that we need greatly. Besides, you will still see him on punt and kick returns (alongside GA3).

 

[Whiskeyjack]

why, Kelly has done it with multiple players already. Besides Neal wont get much playing time with Amir, TJ, Toma, and Theo in there at his position.

Other than Toma, none of those guys is a lock to play mostly Z WR this season.

He is only a freshman, he may be explosive but freshman are rarely as explosive as you think Neal will be in 2012. Neal at CB will put a great player on the field and fill a position that we need greatly.

If that's true, it's doubly so on the defensive side of the ball. WR is generally the easiest position for true freshman to play effectively, while CB is arguably the hardest. If Neal moves to CB (which isn't happening), there's no way he'd see the field in 2012 over Jackson, Brown, J. Atkinson, Lo Wood, and Eilar Hardy.

 

[irishff1014]

If ND plans on winning games you need the best players on the field. Not lest give such and such a chance cause he is a good guy that doesn't matter. And if kelly doesn't learn that he will be the next ND coach sent packing for not winning.

 

[IrishLax]

He's going to play WR. Maaaaaaybe I could see him getting used also as a dime back or something if we had injuries. I think that's the biggest scare right now... even if you move Farley over we still only have 5 CBs and 4 who might be ready to play... so if anyone gets hurt we are in a world of trouble.

Is Eilar Hardy considered a CB possibility?

 

[NYMIKE6]

Is Eilar Hardy considered a CB possibility?

I believe so good Sir....

 

[Whiskeyjack]

He's going to play WR. Maaaaaaybe I could see him getting used also as a dime back or something if we had injuries. I think that's the biggest scare right now... even if you move Farley over we still only have 5 CBs and 4 who might be ready to play... so if anyone gets hurt we are in a world of trouble.

I think Russell would get moved to CB before Neal.

Is Eilar Hardy considered a CB possibility?

Yes. He's small for a S and played CB in high school. In light of Tee's departure and our abundance of Safeties, Farley and Hardy to CB seems very likely to me.

 

[TerryTate]

Hardy & Farley could get shots at DB.

No Freshman is going to walk onto campus and start at CB.

The CB situation needs to be solved before the summer in order to learn the coverages and get acclimated to the defensive system.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Way back on page 5 was when I first watched his film and was blown away with the explosive plays on the offensive side of the ball. It was hard not to get excited at the possibilities at the slot position.

However, lots of people have thrown out names that could move to CB. My initial impression of the names mentioned are that they could possibly do an "adequate" job.

With Neal, he has the skill set to possibly be great at corner. His high school coach has repeatedly answered CB when posed the question about which position is best for Davonte.

Here is just one quote from an old article about Davonte
Davonte Neal makes the climb - ESPN

"If I were coaching him in college I would say cornerback," Ragle said. "His ability to make a play on the ball is second to none.

"Yes, he could be a great slot receiver but what he does at corner is so hard to find. He has a natural knack for playing the ball and the man at the same time."

The same article mentions that his Junior year he gave up 1 reception the whole year and that was a 10 yard out in the state championship game.

The good news is Davonte could be great at two positions. Given our current need at corner, I'm not nearly as convinced as many of you that he will stay primarily at the slot.

 

[Emcee77]

Way back on page 5 was when I first watched his film and was blown away with the explosive plays on the offensive side of the ball. It was hard not to get excited at the possibilities at the slot position.

However, lots of people have thrown out names that could move to CB. My initial impression of the names mentioned are that they could possibly do an "adequate" job.

With Neal, he has the skill set to possibly be great at corner. His high school coach has repeatedly answered CB when posed the question about which position is best for Davonte.

Here is just one quote from an old article about Davonte
Davonte Neal makes the climb - ESPN

The same article mentions that his Junior year he gave up 1 reception the whole year and that was a 10 yard out in the state championship game.

The good news is Davonte could be great at two positions. Given our current need at corner, I'm not nearly as convinced as many of you that he will stay primarily at the slot.

Fair point. I think I posted this article somewhere back in this thread:
Davonte Neal shows off versatility, switches sides at Under Armour All-America Game - ESPN

We are all assuming that he is too dynamic a ball-carrier to be wasted on defense, but it's at least possible that the opposite is true: that he is too good a CB to be wasted on offense. I still expect him to play offense -- even if he is talented he doesn't seem to be the type of athlete we typically recruit at CB, and his offensive film is spectacular -- but who knows.

 

[Old Man Mike]

.... my internet is in the Twilight Zone tonight... I think that I composed a long post but where it went I have no idea.... forgive me if you've read this elsewhere.....

In the NFL every formidable team needs four positions filled with very rare birds if they're going to be really good: a very good quarterback; elite pass rusher; a great left tackle; and shut-down corners. College is not the NFL, but elite college teams need at least to reflect this situation no matter which sorts of systems they employ.

We have our elite left tackle. We have our elite pass-rushers [especially with the Prince now crashing in from CAT]. Coach must solve the QB upgrade issue or all other discussions are moot. And we at least know what the choices are there. That leaves cornerback. We need to come up with one really good one, and one solid one. If we do those things we will not be able to be taken lightly by anyone. [I have the trust that Diaco will get the LB array straightened out this year, and he has the athletes to do it].

This line of discussion may be irrelevant to Davonte Neal's status [since he is not an EE], but it is at least a line of thought that people and coaches will be thinking about.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Yeah, great planning and recruiting by Kelly. He left 6 spots open in last years class and basically put his team on sanctions.

Huh? You're trying too hard.

 

[RubberSoul]

Huh? You're trying too hard.

He took only 16 when he could have taken 22. When you do that to yourself, it has the same effect on your team as sanctions does.

We have 4 corners on the entire roster. What the heck has Kelly been thinking the last couple of years?

 

[clashmore_mike]

He took only 16 when he could have taken 22. When you do that to yourself, it has the same effect on your team as sanctions does.

We have 4 corners on the entire roster. What the heck has Kelly been thinking the last couple of years?

He had two top 5 corners committed since last spring, and two others that would have committed/signed eliminate themselves in January. Again you're trying too hard.

 

[irishff1014]

I am not saying that he is best recruiting coach but he is getting pretty good overall talent here. Yes that have slowed played one recruit that would be here now and the Rios. other that he can't force kids here.

 

[TerryTate]

He took only 16 when he could have taken 22. When you do that to yourself, it has the same effect on your team as sanctions does.

We have 4 corners on the entire roster. What the heck has Kelly been thinking the last couple of years?

That's flat out wrong. Sanctions wouldn't allow you to take 24 in this class. He didn't "only" take 16 this class. They had shots at landing a few more at the end, and they didn't commit.

EJ Banks parted ways, Spencer Boyd went home, and Tee Sheppard left.

Darby decommitted. Brian Poole chose to stay in-state. Yuri Wright acted like an idiot. Rios didn't have the transcript.

You're the same person that would be bitching about a "sub par" offer to another DB at the end of the recruiting cycle.

 

[IrishLax]

That's flat out wrong. Sanctions wouldn't allow you to take 24 in this class. He didn't "only" take 16 this class. They had shots at landing a few more at the end, and they didn't commit.

EJ Banks parted ways, Spencer Boyd went home, and Tee Sheppard left.

Darby decommitted. Brian Poole chose to stay in-state. Yuri Wright acted like an idiot. Rios didn't have the transcript.

You're the same person that would be bitching about a "sub par" offer to another DB at the end of the recruiting cycle.

The real question is why hasn't this guy been banned yet. He trolls so hard. Every fourth post is "good" to try to compensate for the previous 3 that are obvious troll jobs. It's annoying.

 

[gkIrish]

The real question is why hasn't this guy been banned yet. He trolls so hard. Every fourth post is "good" to try to compensate for the previous 3 that are obvious troll jobs. It's annoying.

Yes please ban agreed.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The real question is why hasn't this guy been banned yet. He trolls so hard. Every fourth post is "good" to try to compensate for the previous 3 that are obvious troll jobs. It's annoying.

Seconded.

 

[STLDomer]

He took only 16 when he could have taken 22. When you do that to yourself, it has the same effect on your team as sanctions does.

We have 4 corners on the entire roster. What the heck has Kelly been thinking the last couple of years?

Lo wood, Bennett Jackson, jalen brown, josh Atkinson, matthias Farley, potential to have eliar hardy and/or Davonte Neal there too?

 

[NDinL.A.]

The real question is why hasn't this guy been banned yet. He trolls so hard. Every fourth post is "good" to try to compensate for the previous 3 that are obvious troll jobs. It's annoying.

I've checked him out. He's teetering but he's not worthy of being banned yet IMO. I don't think it's a horrible stretch to say that BK didn't do a great job recruiting this past year. It is my opinion that the bad year is the cause of low numbers, and not bad recruiting, but that's just my opinion. Believe it or not, there are fans that share in RubberSoul's opinion about the past recruiting class.

If Rubber is a troll (like I said, my troll-meter goes nuts when he posts so I checked him out already), he'll hang himself soon enough and he'll be gone soon enough...

 

[OCIrish]

While I'm not ecstatic about this class its by no means a bad class, however, we can't ignore the fact that it left gaping holes in the secondary. While I'm really high on Stanley and Harrell, the staff whiffed at some really big time talent, not only in last years class, but already some in this class. While there is still time to grab some good kids this year on the OL, they need to get 3-4 more besides Elmer.

 

[Irishnuke]

While I'm not ecstatic about this class its by no means a bad class, however, we can't ignore the fact that it left gaping holes in the secondary. While I'm really high on Stanley and Harrell, the staff whiffed at some really big time talent, not only in last years class, but already some in this class. While there is still time to grab some good kids this year on the OL, they need to get 3-4 more besides Elmer.

It was a good class until Tee left. It could have been an epic class had it not been for decommits, grades, backstabs, tweets, and whatever the F happened with Tee. It's not a good class anymore.

 

[RubberSoul]

The problem with moving Neal to corner is that it wastes his talents. Sure, he is plenty fast enough to play corner but he is great with the ball in space and is a nightmare to get under control. Think reggie bush. I hope he stays on offense.

And let's hope some lessOns were learned by Kelly and his staff with recruiting.

Thanks to those who have appreciated my posts and those who have shown tolerance who disagree with me.

 

[woolybug25]

I don't think that RubberSoul is a troll. I just think that he is generally unlikable.

He may never have a green rep bar. In fact, I will probably neg rep him if he does.

But I think he should stay. If for anything, just to have our own resident butthole surfer. Every bar needs a drunk old man sitting in the corner screaming "bullsh!t!!!, that didn't happen".... [/referring to landing on the moon]

 

[NDhoosier]

And let's hope some lessOns were learned by Kelly and his staff with recruiting.

And what lessons are those?

-Tell Darby not to run track or tell ND track coach to step up his game
-Tell Yuri Wright to stop using twitter
-Tell Standifer to take an actual spanish class because most colleges require foreign language
-Tell Tee to not have a medical issue
-Tell DGb not to decommit at the 11th hour because I am sure Kelly was aware that it would happen

Ya, none of these seem to be Kelly's fault.. Sh!t happens bro, with an 8-5 record and poor ending, I thought they did pretty well...

 

[RubberSoul]

And what lessons are those?

-Tell Darby not to run track or tell ND track coach to step up his game
-Tell Yuri Wright to stop using twitter
-Tell Standifer to take an actual spanish class because most colleges require foreign language
-Tell Tee to not have a medical issue
-Tell DGb not to decommit at the 11th hour because I am sure Kelly was aware that it would happen

Ya, none of these seem to be Kelly's fault.. Sh!t happens bro, with an 8-5 record and poor ending, I thought they did pretty well...

Cornerback was a Big position Of need last cycle. There are 2 and many times 3 or 4 starting positions ecause of spread and other pass happy offenses. Now add the fact that his only two commits were the least cOmmited, along with green berry, and you have a recipe for potential disaster. And let's face it, Darby had been gone for awhile in reality. Don't you think that it would have been prudent to take a couple of more lesser cb cOmmits to add depth or for insurance? Or at least a couple of athletes who could move to corner?