Neal willing to be patient
Davonte Neal has tons of offers and more interest but the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral wide receiver who's already set for next season's U.S. Army All-American Bowl is not focused on recruiting.
He said recently that it's not really a burden because he's basically letting his dad handle most of it and doesn't plan to make his college decision until after his senior season.
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"I'm just going through high school right now and then I'll decide after next season where I'm going to play in college," Neal said.
"It's nowhere right now because it's just too stressful for me to think about it right now. I don't think about it a lot and I just want to enjoy myself in high school."
The offer list is overly impressive for Neal, a 5-foot-10, 167-pound prospect who caught 37 passes for 907 yards and 11 touchdowns in Chaparral's undefeated season. Neal also rushed for 551 yards and 12 scores.
Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, BYU, Duke, Hawaii, Illinois, LSU, New Mexico, Northwestern, Oregon State, Penn State, UCLA and USC have all offered already and many more could at any time.
His teammate, pro-style quarterback Connor Brewer, recently committed to Texas but multiple sources have said that Neal and Brewer will probably go through their recruitment separately and that they're not necessarily a package deal.
For Neal, there is no leader or at least he's not publicizing it at this point. It doesn't sound like he's necessarily too focused on the recruiting buzz and is looking more toward his senior season.
Neal has lots of time to make his decision. It seems like he's comfortable waiting things out.
"I know I'm going to play somewhere so it's just about staying relaxed and keeping my head on straight and letting my dad take care of the recruiting stuff," Neal said.
"I'm not sure (about new schools getting involved) because I don't talk to my dad about it. I just tell my dad to handle it himself because I don't want to know."