http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1462085&PT=4&PR=2 January 20, 2013 The Rivals.com analysts tackle some questions about the final rankings process in a roundtable format. Coming out of the final rankings meetings, which player from your region do you still feel deserved a bigger bump? ... Woody Wommack, Southeast: The guy I really like after we saw him perform well at two different all-star events is Lewis Neal . The only thing that kept him from making a big move up the rankings is concern about where exactly he'll play at the next level. I think he has the talent to play defensive end or perhaps a hybrid linebacker position; but in the end, he didn't quite get the bump that I fought for because he doesn't have a true position.
NationalUnderclassmen.com named him a Top Performer of the Shrine Bowl: ... Below are the top performers as seen by NUC National Analyst Barry Every. ... Lewis Neal, DE, 6-1/235, Wilson Hunt ... Assets: Neal is a versatile athlete that could either project as an outside linebacker or a pass rushing specialist in the 4-3 defense. He is quick off the edge and when blocked he knows how to get his arms up in the passing lanes. His overall body structure is ideal for adding more muscle mass. The LSU Tigers have a knack for finding speedy edge rushers.
His arms look huge in his pictures. Here's a similar post made on another LSU forum: Just for comparison, some Rival stats: Neal bench 350 squat 500 vertical 32" Vanderdoes bench 305 squat 500 Golden (A&M) bench 295 squat 505 Pretty much says it all...his legs are probably like a lot of players being recruited but he blows away these guys in the bench (arms) by around 50 pounds. Explains why he looks so strong on his videos throwing guys around. ... He basically bench presses 50 lbs more than his peer DL and OL prospects nice to see a high bench from long-armed guys. Very strong.
10 months ago, Keith Niebuhr, the Southeast Football Recruiting Analyst at Rivals.com, did an interview with an Ohio State sports publication, The O-Zone, where he said this about Neal: "he is a high-character kid... a very coachable kid" Niebuhr got a chance to see Neal in person at the Rivals.com/VTO Sports Elite 100 camp at Mallard Creek High School down in Charlotte. Neal was working with the defensive linemen at the camp in Charlotte, and that is really the only position he has played on that side of the ball in high school. "He’s quick and explosive off the line. He gets into the body of an offensive lineman so quick that it leaves very little time to react.” "He’s a very good athlete. ... He has tremendous quickness at the snap, which is something that can’t be measured,” he said. “There is no combine drill for that. When the ball is snapped, he is on the other side of the line before the guy across from him has even moved.”
Here's what this guy and Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman had to say about Neal at the Shrine Bowl: Adam Friedman Recruiting Analyst SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Last week, Rivals.com analysts Adam Friedman and Woody Wommack were in Spartanburg, S.C., for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, which included multiple practices leading up to Saturday's game. Here are their awards: TOUGHEST TO BLOCK Lewis Neal, DE, Wilson (N.C.) Hunt: Simply put, Neal is a beast. He was easily the toughest assignment for any offensive lineman, especially in the game. His size, strength and quickness at the snap made him almost unstoppable, and he was disruptive the majority of the time.
LSU Football @LSUfball 45m Welcome the newest Tiger: Lewis Neal! #LSURoar Shea Dixon @Sheadixon North Carolina DE Lewis Neal becomes the first player to send his fax into #LSU .
Welcome aboard, Mr. Neal! Heard a lot of good things about you. We love our defense! I'm sure Chief will do you good.
Like many have been saying, Gerry Hamilton (National Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports) names Neal as the biggest sleeper in LSU's recruiting class http://247sports.com/Article/Sleepers-heading-to-the-SEC-for-the-Class-of-2013-120695 Class of 2013 sleepers: SEC ... there are always those recruits that don’t necessarily get the fanfare that end up being top-level players at the college level and beyond. The “sleepers” if you will. LSU Lewis Neal, WDE, Wilson (N.C.) James Hunt - Neal may not pass the eye ball test at around 6-foot-1 and 235-pounds, but he certainly impresses with his overall athleticism and agility. The three-star Neal not only has a quick first step, but an understanding of playing with a low inside shoulder and the feet and agility to turn the corner. As impressive as his pass rush ability is his physicality with his hands, and his ability to turn and pursue.
