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Evan Neal

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Evan Neal
refer to caption
Neal in 2017
No. 73 – New York Giants
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (2000-09-19) September 19, 2000 (age 23)
Okeechobee, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight:350 lb (159 kg)
Career information
High school:IMG Academy
(Bradenton, Florida)
College:Alabama (2019–2021)
NFL draft:2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:20
Games started:20
Player stats at PFR

Evan Neal (born September 19, 2000) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was selected seventh overall by the Giants in the 2022 NFL draft.

Early years

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Neal was born on September 19, 2000, in Okeechobee, Florida. He originally attended Okeechobee High School before transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[1] He played in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.[2] A five-star recruit, Neal committed to play college football at the University of Alabama.[3][4]

College career

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Neal started all 13 games at left guard during his freshman year in 2019 before moving to right tackle in 2020.[5][6][7] He was a starting member of the team that won the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. Following the 2021 season, Neal announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2022 NFL draft.[8]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 7+1⁄2 in
(2.02 m) 		337 lb
(153 kg) 		34 in
(0.86 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)
All values from NFL Combine[9][10]

Neal was drafted seventh overall by the New York Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft.[11] In Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Neal suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain.[12] He returned in Week 13.[13] He played in and started 13 regular season games and both of the Giants' playoff games as a rookie.[14]

When asked about the booing Giants fans following a Week 4 2023 season loss to the Seattle Seahawks where Daniel Jones was sacked eleven times, Neal responded with "Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? ... I genuinely don’t care. Why should I? I’m in the National Football League. The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”.[15] After receiving a large amount of backlash, he posted an apology on social media the next day.[16] On December 24, 2023, the Giants placed him on injured reserve.[17]

Personal life

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Neal's father, Eddie, played linebacker at Tulane while three uncles — Frankie Neal, Cleveland Gary, and Jimmie Jones — played in the NFL.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Santucci, Jon (July 14, 2016). "Okeechobee's Neal transferring to IMG Academy to play football". TCPalm. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Hall, Brendan C. (September 10, 2018). "IMG Academy players receive their Under Armour All-American jerseys". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  3. ^ VanHaaren, Tom (December 19, 2018). "Bama adds to haul, gets ESPN 300 OL Neal". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Whitehead, Bill (December 19, 2018). "Former Okeechobee offensive tackle Evan Neal will play for Alabama". Treasure Coast. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Hudson, Brett (January 5, 2020). "Evan Neal next up for Alabama line". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Hudson, Brett (January 5, 2020). "Nick Saban: Evan Neal has bright future for Crimson Tide". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Marion, Richard (December 22, 2020). "Okeechobee's Evan Neal wins SEC championship with Alabama". South Central Florida Life. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Casagrande, Michael (January 13, 2022). "Alabama's Evan Neal declares for NFL draft". AL.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Evan Neal Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "Evan Neal, Alabama, OT, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Giants draft Alabama OL Evan Neal with 7th pick". Giants.com. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  12. ^ Koons, Zack (October 23, 2022). "Giants OT Evan Neal Carted Off With Knee Injury vs. Jaguars". SI.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Rivardo, Anthony (December 5, 2022). "New York Giants: Evan Neal looks better than ever in return from injury". Empire Sports Media. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Evan Neal 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  15. ^ Valentine, Ed (October 4, 2023). "Giants' Evan Neal takes on fans, and makes a huge mistake". bigblueview.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (October 5, 2023). "Evan Neal apologizes after criticizing 'sheep' Giants fans, fair-weather 'bandwagoners'". NFL.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "OT Evan Neal to IR; OT Matt Peart activated among Sunday roster moves". Giants.com. December 24, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  18. ^ Litman, Laken (April 25, 2022). "Alabama's Evan Neal 'how a franchise left tackle should be'". FOX Sports. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
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