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Neal is determined to get better
Davonte Neal said after the Los Angeles NIKE Camp that he needs to work on his footwork, getting off the line, coming out of a break, catching the ball and everything else to become a better football player.
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Sounds like he had an awful performance. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Neal, a 2012 prospect from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral, was arguably the top wide receiver at the entire event - one of the most-loaded NIKE Camp stops this spring. He didn't win the MVP award but many people raved about his abilities.
But it's in Neal's nature to keep working hard. That's how he's become so talented at such an early age and why so many colleges are already recruiting him.
"I felt I did well but still need to work on a little bit of things," Neal said. "You're never perfect so I feel I can go home, work on some things, work on what the coaches showed me and get better.
"I'm just coming to see where I'm at, to compete against the older guys because I like to go against the older guys and if I do well I'm never satisfied. I come back and work that much harder."
Neal, a 5-foot-10, 167-pound prospect, is an exceptional talent. He is so athletic, strong and fast that defensive backs have a hard time keeping up with him. The Arizona prospect runs great routes and he never takes a second off, always going his fastest so people can't keep up with him.
It's all part of Neal's DNA: Work harder than everybody else.
"You always have to prove yourself," Neal said. "You're not going to go somewhere and have it be given to you. You have to work hard for everything you do. I don't want anything to be given to me. I want to work hard for it so I always want to prove myself."
And constantly competing against older competition is one of the ways Neal has gotten so good.
"It makes me a lot better," Neal said. "It makes me work that much harder just to know that I'm going against older guys and seeing how I compete against older guys. I just have my mindset on what I'm doing. If I'm at a camp, that's what I have my mind set on."
Neal said he's not focused on the recruiting process - yet. Still finishing up his sophomore year, Neal said he didn't know which offers have arrived and that his father would know more.
According to Rivals.com, Arizona State, Boston College and BYU have offered and Arizona, Oregon and Southern Cal are showing interest. After watching Neal's performance at the Los Angeles NIKE Camp it's safe to say he could easily be a national target at this time next year.