New OFFER - NEB DE Daishon Neal Drops Oregon, Oklahoma - Will Host Michigan Monday

Submitted by alum96 on

EDIT - he has been offered.

We haven't heard much about DE Daishon Neal in the recruiting mix but it was a busy weekend for this Nebraska native who is committed to his hometown team.  He dropped Oregon and Oklahoma as prospects but apparently will host Mattison today - his tweet doesn't really indicate if it's just in school or both school and home.

Michigan we'll be at school tomorrow. For an in-home visit.

— DJ (@DaishonNeal90) January 26, 2015

I imagine Riley and the Nebraska fan base is not really fond of Harbaugh right now - flipped their other DE/OLB hybrid, actively recruiting their TE, and now going after their other DE.  Neal is a homegrown 3 star kid who committed to Pelini, and a lot larger than Jones at 6'7 250 lbs, so would be more apt to not redshirt if he passes a Poggi or Marshall type on the 2 deep.  Interesting he dropped Oklahoma in particular since they are a lot closer to NEB than MI is.

247. Rivals.

Some internet sleuthing - despite being a NEB commit he called Oregon his new leader on Dec 15th.  Sounds like dad's views will be very important.

"I've always wanted to go to Oregon. That was my pick when they first offered. I was ready to commit there, but my dad didn't want me to de-commit from Nebraska, because he wasn't sure what Oregon has to offer," Neal explained.

"He came by my house (Saturday) morning," Neal explained. "The visit went great. Me and Coach Aiken talked. We talked about the schemes that the University of Oregon has to offer. My dad had a great conversation with him. Right now, my family and I are leaning toward the University of Oregon."

"I have not broken my commitment just yet," he said. "I plan on taking an official visit (to Eugene) sometime in January, so I can look at the campus for myself and see what Oregon really has to offer. I'll base my decision on that visit."  "Me and my dad, right now, are leaning toward Oregon," he said.

 

Three weeks ago it was 50/50 Oregon v Neb. He also scheduled a visit to Oklahoma to see "what they had to offer".  So Oregon being dropped is pretty significant here.  Also sounds like the "culture" he likes at Oregon will be apparent under Durkin.

Neal said he likes the culture under Ducks defensive line coach Ron Aiken, according to the Oregonian's Andrew Nemec.  "I like how he says how there's nothing but competition there. Each day is about becoming a better player than what you were yesterday," said Neal. "It's about the team and achieving the goal that they have, which is, of course, winning a national title. It's also about being the best man you can be and getting an education."

Neal was primarily recruited to Nebraska by assistant coach Barney Cotton, who was part of Pelini's staff and become NU's interim coach in the Holiday Bowl. Cotton was not retained on Riley's staff, though the new Husker coach has made efforts to keep Nebraska's 2015 recruiting class intact.

readyourguard

January 26th, 2015 at 7:09 AM ^

Didn't we tell Jake Pickard we weren't offering any other DEs?

per Lorenz thread on 247:

“We sat down with Coach (Jim) Harbaugh and he said Jake you’re the only defensive end we’re offering. We’re 110 percent behind you.”

Magnus

January 26th, 2015 at 7:26 AM ^

Exactly. Even if not explicitly stated, I think/hope that players realize there's a time limit on things like that. Teams can't wait until NSD on the slim chance that some 3-star recruit will commit to them. It might be a different story for a 5-star guy like CeCe Jefferson where two or three teams think they have a legitimate shot, but there are Pickard-level possibilities elsewhere.

BlueMarrow

January 26th, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^

This was probably the rest of the paragraph:

"You're the only DE we're offering. We're 110% behind you. But we need to know if you are 110% behind us. We will give you and your family X days to think it over. If we don't hear by then that you are 110% with us, we must assume you may sign elsewhere, and it's our responsibility to keep looking/offering. Our offer to you is good for as long as we have a spot."

GoBLUinTX

January 26th, 2015 at 7:37 AM ^

Is it possible that Pickard confused offered with taking, as in "We're only taking one more DE" and he turned that into "We're only offering one DE?"  Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Reuben Jones a DE?  

Only the recruits get to talk about what they talked about.  Classic case of "He said and nobody else could."  

alum96

January 26th, 2015 at 7:33 AM ^

For a 3 star it is decent.  He looks like a guy who wanted to stay close to home so all the "neighbor" states with decent programs offered (Iowa, Oklahoma).  Then it sounds like Oregon was his dream school so for all we know the Neal family could have initiated contact with Oregon and then he got an offer once they reviewed him.

I'd have expected some lower level Texas schools (lower level in terms of recruiting) to offer a guy like this - maybe a Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU but it is pretty random when you get to mid 3 star level like this. 

OccaM

January 26th, 2015 at 7:12 AM ^

Seems like Riley isn't hitting it out of the park with Pelini's commitments to Nebraska. I wonder how the Cornhusker fans feel right now... 

NebraskaStudent

January 26th, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^

He locked up almost all of our commitments except for a running back out of NOLA who was out the door regardless, and then Reuben Jones who I think would've gone to Michigan even with Pelini at the helm. Neal is originally from Texas, and he flirted a lot with the possibility of looking elsewhere the entire fall, but Riley has really done well on keeping his commitment. You can't fault a kid for entertaining a school as prestigious as Michigan, but Riley has done one hell of a job of keeping him around.

AnklePick

January 26th, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^

raw tools, coach him up and teach him hand placement, work on first step, and shedding blocks. Whenever i see a DE over 6'6" all I can think about is Pat Massey.

If the coaches want him, you know, the guys who base their livelihoods on evaluating these guys, then lets riiiiide.

Magnus

January 26th, 2015 at 7:45 AM ^

Wait. Are you saying you think Michigan's football coaches are better talent evaluators than me? I'm shocked.

Hey, everyone. Just so you know, we should no longer offer our opinions on anything, because there are people out there who are better than us. So keep your opinions to yourself on movies, music, books, the Super Bowl, play calling, politics, etc.

In reply to by AnklePick

Magnus

January 26th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^

"Just sayin dude" is about as pointless of a response as any that exist. All it says to me is that you're making a fuss for no reason.

Don

January 26th, 2015 at 8:56 AM ^

That's not an overwhelming endorsement in my book. Maybe Neal will be able to occasionally put his arms up to knock down a throw, something Massey just couldn't do for some reason.

Magnus

January 26th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^

LOL.

Speaking of hypocritical, I think it's funny that you're suggesting to proceed with caution, since earlier in this thread, you said this:

"If the coaches want him, you know, the guys who base their livelihoods on evaluating these guys, then lets riiiiide."

AnklePick

January 27th, 2015 at 7:53 AM ^

I see you suffer from a severe case of small dick syndrome. Simply a comparioson because of the height and position, strictly a physical comparison. And yes, Pat Massey sucked. Have a nice day Magnus.

Also, thanks for quoting what I typed 3 posts above, I had forgotten what I typed!