Very few 2012 recruits made more big plays with the ball in their hands than Davonte Neal. Here are five ways Neal will make a major contribution to Notre Dame during his inaugural season in South Bend, IN.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly wanted more playmakers so he recruited more playmakers. Perhaps the biggest impact from the class of 2012 will come from the last recruit to sign his national letter of intent with Notre Dame, Davonte Neal. His style of play will help a special player from the class of 2011 and he also resembles a recent Notre Dame standout now in the NFL.
Special Teams
Go ahead. Kick it to him. We dare you! That's going to be the mantra from the Irish punt return and kickoff return units moving forward. Interestingly, combining Neal with George Atkinson III for kickoffs will be something to watch. Will teams squib-kick? Angle the kickoff towards the sideline and risk the football going out of bounds and being penalized? From the other perspective, most coaching staffs would be thrilled with just one return man like Atkinson III or Neal, but both? Hard to remember a more dangerous tandem in recent college football history. Why so much praise for a young man that's never played a down of college football? One cannot teach his physical skill. He has sprinter speed and the ability to stop, cut, and accelerate again at rapid pace. Neal will be difficult for opposing special teams units to contain. Neal will provide Notre Dame with an advantage. A huge advantage.
Versatility
It's one thing to be a very talented offensive tackle, pocket passer, pass rushing defensive end, and so on and so forth. College football is full of specialists. Few of those players can change a game from numerous positions. Neal can return punts, kickoffs, catch passes from the slot or out wide, play running back, and even be the Wildcat quarterback. He will be a big problem for opposing defensive coordinators. Some questions that defensive coordinators will seek to answer include "Where will Notre Dame use Neal against us? Will they give him more carries as a running back? Swing passes to get him one-on-one with a linebacker? Vertical routes from the slot to attack or safeties?" Defensive coordinators must prepare for myriad of different offenses as it is. Adding special playmakers like Neal applies extra pressure to guess correctly as to how a special talent like Neal will be utilized from week to week.
Wide Receiver
As a freshman, Neal will need to learn the nuances of blocking, route adjustments, route trees, etc. That's part of the matriculation to college football. What Neal can do regardless of his knowledge is make plays with his feet. It's as simple as pointing out that very few college football players possess Neal's speed. "Go deep young man!" Remember when Golden Tate could hardly run a route? He just ran past defensive backs. Neal possesses more wide receiver knowledge than Tate coming out of high school, and Neal is a step faster to boot. Anytime a defensive back decides to crowd Neal, a deep pass pattern could result in six points. Additionally, Notre Dame likes to run bubble screens and other versions of the wide receiver screen game. No reason to believe that Neal will not be a focal point of those plays in coach Kelly's system.
Running Back
Keeping with the theme comparing Neal to Tate, I wish that Tate would have lined up at tailback more often. Sure a few carries would not have been a bad idea, but it's the screen game and using him with play-action fakes that really intrigued me. The same can be said with Neal. Teams need to pay special attention to Neal because of his ability to score any time he touches the ball. Play-action fake, over the top to Davaris Daniels, Tyler Eifert, TJ Jones, Atkinson III, Chris Brown, Keivarae Russell, or other Notre Dame receiving target. Neal also displayed good vision as a running back. Allowing him five carries a game sounds reasonable enough.
Changing Defensive Calls
After Neal becomes an established commodity opposing defensive coordinators could literally play vanilla defense in hopes of Notre Dame making a mistake. This means the safeties lining up a couple of steps further back at the snap of the ball, fewer blitz calls, and less pressure from linebackers and defensive backs towards the underneath routes. This is the type of scenario many ACC teams found themselves in during the 1990s when Florida State steamrolled that conference year after year. Nobody had the athletes to compete with the 'Noles skill position talent. The Seminoles picked teams apart. Notre Dame's passing game will certainly go through a learning progression this year (I'm still convinced a quarterback change will take place) with some younger wide receivers earning playing time, but the speed factor from Neal will certainly help. Further, the rushing attack will be better off because very few teams possess the talent to place six in the box (or five) and slow down Notre Dame's rushing attack. If Cierre Wood goes against six men in the box each week he will rush for well over 1,000 yards.
Final Thoughts
Very few recruits exited me the way Neal did during the past decade. When a recruit with a similar skill set did catch my eye, that player rarely considered Notre Dame, let alone signed with Notre Dame. I grew tired of watching all of the so-called "burners" go to Texas, LSU, Miami, Ohio State and the like. It's finally Notre Dame's turn to have the home run threat again. Along with Atkinson III, Neal will provide a lethal one-two punch in the return game. Neal will drive opposing defensive coordinators crazy while attempting to prepare for where he will line up. He can make plays from the slot, out wide, as a running back, or even the wildcat.
Neal could be one of the most important recruits to sign with Notre Dame in a very long time. He's special talent that's a tremendous fit for coach Kelly's offense. He will make an impact for the Irish from the moment he steps on the practice field.
