1. On its list of LSU commitments, scout.com lists him as a MLB.
  2. Great read. Thanks
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.”
  7. 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.
  8. 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 .
  9. Welcome aboard, Mr. Neal! Heard a lot of good things about you. We love our defense! I'm sure Chief will do you good.
  10. 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.