As Tuesday, February 21 approached and I was waiting on Davonte Neal, I had several thoughts on how to write an article about Neal’s decision and hoping it would favor the Irish. I initially thought it was kind of like a Christmas present that came late in the mail, you already got your gift on the 25th (February 1st for National Signing day for college fans) but you get one more, extending the excitement. After the debacle that unfolded Tuesday afternoon with Neal calling for an assembly at his former elementary school amassing 600 kids to see him make his choice, only to be a no-show, I am concerned about what we are getting in South Bend.
There has been a lot of talk about Davonte feuding with his father as to where to attend; son wanting Arizona and dad wanting Notre Dame. So after Tuesday afternoon we have a recruit who left 600 elementary students waiting, waiting and waiting with no call (he later stated there was a family emergency at 2:30am). We have a recruit who could not make up his mind in a timely fashion like hundreds of other high school seniors did. We have a recruit whose family can’t get their act together. But come Tuesday night, we no longer had a recruit; we had a commit with all of these issues.
Now have more baggage with this kid than a 747 cargo bay. I have read a lot about Luke Neal (Davonte’s father) and none of it (and I mean none of it) has been good. Kelly had better quickly put this kid and his dad in check. The good news: he is talented (on both sides of the ball), and Michael Floyd was not always the ideal student athlete and after some bumpy roads he turned out pretty good as a football player and a person. For now this Christmas package can be labeled return to sender.
