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4. KEANU NEAL | Florida 6004|211 lbs|3JR Bushnell, Fla. (South Sumter) 7/26/1994 (age 21) #42
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT GRADE 2nd-3rd Round 2013: (12/0) 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 MEASUREABLES Arm: 32 3/4 | Hand: 10 5/8 | Wingspan: 78 3/8 2014: (10/8) 45 1.0 0.0 1 7 3 COMBINE 40-YD: 4.62 | 10-YD: 1.62 | 20-YD: 2.69 | BP: 17 | VJ: 38 | BJ: 11’00” | SS: 4.38 | 3C: 7.09 2015: (12/11) 96 3.5 2.0 1 2 1 PRO DAY 40-YD: 4.65 | 10-YD: 1.60 | 20-YD: 2.60 | SS: 4.20 Total: (34/19) 146 4.5 2.0 2 9 4
BACKGROUND: A four-star safety recruit out of high school, Neal received offers from Florida, Auburn, Clemson and several others, committing to the Gators during his junior year. He played on special teams coverages as a true freshman in 2013, recording five tackles in 2013. Neal worked his way into the starting line-up at safety as a sophomore (eight starts) and collected 45 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions. He had his best season in 2015 as a junior and finished third on the team with 96 tackles, adding 3.5 tackles for loss, two passes defended and one interception. Neal opted to leave Gainesville after his junior season to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
STRENGTHS: Looks the part with a developed physique and long arms…highly physical and aggressive tackler, using his length to hit, lift and drive…plays with violence and anger, exploding through his hips and striking with authority…smooth athlete for his size and controls his momentum well in space…consistent play speed, showing functional range…attacks alleys and flows well with the action, never playing bored…tough player and fights through pain…productive junior season, averaging 8.7 tackles per start in 2015.
WEAKNESSES: One-speed athlete and doesn’t play with much burst…physical striker, but doesn’t consistently square up his target, break down in motion or wrap to finish…wild angles and takes wasted steps vs. the run and in coverage…streaky take-on technique and late to separate from blocks…makes it too easy for receivers to block him in the open field…struggles to anticipate, biting on fakes – needs to see things a tick faster to be more of a reliable playmaker…eyes stuck in the backfield, allowing spacing from his coverage responsibilities…marginal spatial awareness and tends to play with tunnel vision…durability concerns, missing parts of the last two seasons – high right ankle sprain (Oct. 2014) that required a boot and crutches, missing two games; battled hamstring (Aug. 2015) and foot (Nov. 2015) issues as a junior, missing two games…poor production with single digit passes defended in his career.
SUMMARY: A two-year starter, Neal was a box player in high school, but was used as both a strong and free safety for the Gators. While he showed improvements in the deep half of the field in coverage, he is best known as an eraser downhill, playing with violent intentions and looking to lay the wood. Neal enjoys contact and is a physical striker, but needs mechanical work as too many of his tackle attempts are off balance due to streaky angles. He might be able to start at some point during his NFL rookie season, but requires time to improve his discipline as he doesn’t have the athleticism to make up for wasted steps – will be a special teams demon due to his relentless nature while competing for snaps on defense.
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT GRADE 2nd-3rd Round 2013: (12/0) 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 MEASUREABLES Arm: 32 3/4 | Hand: 10 5/8 | Wingspan: 78 3/8 2014: (10/8) 45 1.0 0.0 1 7 3 COMBINE 40-YD: 4.62 | 10-YD: 1.62 | 20-YD: 2.69 | BP: 17 | VJ: 38 | BJ: 11’00” | SS: 4.38 | 3C: 7.09 2015: (12/11) 96 3.5 2.0 1 2 1 PRO DAY 40-YD: 4.65 | 10-YD: 1.60 | 20-YD: 2.60 | SS: 4.20 Total: (34/19) 146 4.5 2.0 2 9 4
BACKGROUND: A four-star safety recruit out of high school, Neal received offers from Florida, Auburn, Clemson and several others, committing to the Gators during his junior year. He played on special teams coverages as a true freshman in 2013, recording five tackles in 2013. Neal worked his way into the starting line-up at safety as a sophomore (eight starts) and collected 45 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions. He had his best season in 2015 as a junior and finished third on the team with 96 tackles, adding 3.5 tackles for loss, two passes defended and one interception. Neal opted to leave Gainesville after his junior season to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
STRENGTHS: Looks the part with a developed physique and long arms…highly physical and aggressive tackler, using his length to hit, lift and drive…plays with violence and anger, exploding through his hips and striking with authority…smooth athlete for his size and controls his momentum well in space…consistent play speed, showing functional range…attacks alleys and flows well with the action, never playing bored…tough player and fights through pain…productive junior season, averaging 8.7 tackles per start in 2015.
WEAKNESSES: One-speed athlete and doesn’t play with much burst…physical striker, but doesn’t consistently square up his target, break down in motion or wrap to finish…wild angles and takes wasted steps vs. the run and in coverage…streaky take-on technique and late to separate from blocks…makes it too easy for receivers to block him in the open field…struggles to anticipate, biting on fakes – needs to see things a tick faster to be more of a reliable playmaker…eyes stuck in the backfield, allowing spacing from his coverage responsibilities…marginal spatial awareness and tends to play with tunnel vision…durability concerns, missing parts of the last two seasons – high right ankle sprain (Oct. 2014) that required a boot and crutches, missing two games; battled hamstring (Aug. 2015) and foot (Nov. 2015) issues as a junior, missing two games…poor production with single digit passes defended in his career.
SUMMARY: A two-year starter, Neal was a box player in high school, but was used as both a strong and free safety for the Gators. While he showed improvements in the deep half of the field in coverage, he is best known as an eraser downhill, playing with violent intentions and looking to lay the wood. Neal enjoys contact and is a physical striker, but needs mechanical work as too many of his tackle attempts are off balance due to streaky angles. He might be able to start at some point during his NFL rookie season, but requires time to improve his discipline as he doesn’t have the athleticism to make up for wasted steps – will be a special teams demon due to his relentless nature while competing for snaps on defense.
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