Davonte Neal Debacle

[AsUdUdE]

Do you say this when local kids pick schools over ASU, a program barely better if not very similar in stature to UA?

NAU is an awful example by the way, they are an FCS school.

I agree and his recruiting prowess should ultimately be judged on the 2013 class and not this one. However 10th in the Pac-12 in recruiting is 10th in the Pac-12. It needs to improve especially since all of a sudden in addition to the usual USC and Oregon recruiting powerhouses; Stanford, UCLA, and Washington seem to have joined that list.

I would say the same thing about ASU too...

 

[ozzfloyd]

I would have no issue with Neal going the ND route over UA. Makes sense. It was just how this went down. Apparently Davonte was all set to go to UA, called coaches etc., but his father shut that down and pushed ND. If he'd just gone to his PC, announced ND...no biggie. But to have everyone reporting that he was announcing UA, then being a no show to the PC, reports of his father threatening to not sign a LOI to anywhere other than ND. Then having another PC 2 hours later, again, all reports say UA is the choice, then announce ND...

 

[Gaddabout]

Not trying to start anything here, but come on guys.. I get that UofA love blinds logic, but given the choice of Tucson where he would be on primetime national tv maybe once or twice a year or south bend where you get 10x that amount at least..

Not that far fetched to see a parent push for the most exposure of his kid...

I mean take it one level down.. Say there was a kid who had offers from NAU and UofA and he had the talent to someday be in the NFL, but he said he was going to still choose NAU.. Couldnt you see a dad saying whoa, nope wrong choice, your going to a program that will give you the best chance to succeed...

Same thing happend here..

If this had happened to ASU, we'd be setting the place on fire over on our board. Forget football. This kind of parent meddling is painful to watch. You can live with a recruit choosing ND over state school. It's much harder to live with the idea he wanted to come to your school but johnny-come-lately father has been making all the decisions for the kid.

At the very least, you should agree setting those kids up at the press conference and punking out was in very bad form. The problem is, that's how it's gone with father/son since the world became aware of them.

 

[AsUdUdE]

If this had happened to ASU, we'd be setting the place on fire over on our board. Forget football. This kind of parent meddling is painful to watch. You can live with a recruit choosing ND over state school. It's much harder to live with the idea he wanted to come to your school but johnny-come-lately father has been making all the decisions for the kid.

At the very least, you should agree setting those kids up at the press conference and punking out was in very bad form. The problem is, that's how it's gone with father/son since the world became aware of them.

100% it was bad form, an you can't do what he did with the press conference and everything..

But is this all speculation that the dad forced this, or was it confirmed?

It should never have come to not showing up at the the PC, period, it is just low class..

 

[Gaddabout]

But is this all speculation that the dad forced this, or was it confirmed?

The Neals said it was a "family situation," but given how publicly Luke has gone about directing this whole thing, there was little doubt what was going on. It's been out in the open for at least a year, longer for those closer to the programs. Arizona clearly had a verbal from Davante', no matter what he ended up saying at his non-press conference.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

The fact that Luke Neal had Davonte tell reporters that Arizona wasnt even his 2nd choice (he said Arkansas), tells you all you need to know about what happened. A kid doesnt just not show up to his announcement press conference if all is fine and dandy.

Lets not forget that Urban Meyer "gave away" Davonte's scholarship as well.

 

[HooverDam]

Now he's dropped out of Chaparral and is going to Central....weird. This whole thing is a mess and I wouldnt be surprised if this kid flamed out at ND b/c of all the off the field nonsense, sad.

 

[Lefty]

Now he's dropped out of Chaparral and is going to Central....weird. This whole thing is a mess and I wouldnt be surprised if this kid flamed out at ND b/c of all the off the field nonsense, sad.

Something smells fishy about the whole thing. I doubt he lasts long at Notre Dame.

 

[Gaddabout]

I doubt he lasts long at Notre Dame.

I doubt he gets IN to Notre Dame.

I vote him most likely to end up at Arizona Western CC. Assuming he graduates.

 

[TJ]

Here we go again....

http://www.onefootdown.com/2013/3/27/4151594/wr-davonte-neal-leaving-notre-dame-program

Wants to be closer to home....

 

[sundevilscott]

This is really good news for Richard Obert.

 

[TJ]

Just committed to Arizona. He'll play in the slot and return punts, it sounds like.

Wowsers.....only took one year, but we got him!! Bear Down!!

 

[PAQ77]

While I'm excited about getting the "football player" and anxious to see what he'll do in RR's offense... I can't say the same about the kid himself. A ton of baggage comes with him and I'm not sure he's worth the headache. I hope I'm wrong and he makes me forget about all that once he breaks his first 70 yard TD run. We shall see!

Bear Down

 

[Lefty]

Nice. Hopefully he will be granted eligibility right away. RichRod is doing extremely well in recruiting for next year.

 

[TJ]

While I'm excited about getting the "football player" and anxious to see what he'll do in RR's offense... I can't say the same about the kid himself. A ton of baggage comes with him and I'm not sure he's worth the headache. I hope I'm wrong and he makes me forget about all that once he breaks his first 70 yard TD run. We shall see!

Bear Down

Davonte the person isn't a bad person. It's his father that is the issue. Davonte always wanted to play for RichRod, but daddy had other plans. Now that Neal has a newborn child, which is the reason he came back to AZ, I don't think this drama will persist, any longer.

 

[Lefty]

He was about to commit to UCLA until Rich Rod called.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/blogs/f...cle_d06c3450-a1a4-11e2-a11d-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[TJ]

Switching sides of the ball. Will play corner next season.

Smart move.

 

[GatorAZ]

Hope the D is significantly better. It's been bad for so many years now.