KFBCA Top 11: Devin Neal

The Kansas Football Coaches Association picked their All-State teams December 6th and 7th, including their Top 11. Kansas Pregame is providing capsules for each of the Top 11 selections. Check out Lawrence High running back Devin Neal's capsule below, the last of the KFBCA Top 11 capsules for 2020.

Devin Neal, RB, 6-0, 215, Lawrence High School

Lawrence senior Devin Neal will go down as one of the most versatile players in Lawrence High history. And not just on the football field.

Neal’s senior campaign was spectacular, as he rushed for 1,370 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground and added 16 receptions with 186 yards and two touchdown catches, leading Lawrence High to a 9-1 record, and a trip to the Class 6A state quarterfinals in a season that saw numerous starts, stops and schedule changes due to the coronavirus. In one three-game stretch the Chesty Lions beat 5A powers Bishop Carroll and Aquinas followed by a one-point win over eventual 6A semifinalist Olathe North.

Neal was the top-ranked prospect in Kansas’ 2021 recruiting class by both 24/7 and Rivals, and he made all of this happen while maintaining a 3.98 GPA. He was even the Chesty Lion Homecoming King.

Neal was an early commit to the hometown Kansas Jayhawks to play not one, but two sports, as he also displays his versatility on the baseball diamond. He was ranked the number two outfielder in the state of Kansas in 2020 according to Prep Baseball Report.

“It feels amazing to (have a chance to) play both the sports I love and playing it for the city I love as well,” Neal said about his commitment to KU. “It’s a dream come true of mine!”

For many student-athletes, all of this time and effort would be a bit much to maintain. Neal, on the other hand, has a one-track mind when asked how he manages that work load while still performing at such a high level. 

“Just attacking the classroom like I do in my sports,” Neal said of his academic success. “Grades are more important for me than sports and that’s how I view it.”

Neal will be joining a Jayhawk football team that, while it has talent on the roster and experienced coaching, is mired in a years long run of losing seasons. The Jayhawk coaching staff is hoping Neal will be a catalyst for a turnaround, considering turnarounds in Lawrence are nothing new to him.

In his first two falls at tradition-rich Lawrence High, the team won a total of six games in a pair of rare back-to-back down seasons. In his last two seasons, thanks in large part to the influence of legendary coach Steve Rampy, they were 17-3 and made deep playoff runs. 

Neal was the linchpin of that two-year run with 220 carries for 1,687 rushing yards and 30 catches for 520 yards with 32 combined touchdowns as a junior.

When asked about some of his biggest personal accomplishments during his time on the LHS gridiron, Neal had this to say: “(My) biggest accomplishment was definitely going 9-1 this season while in such troubling times, alongside making one of the biggest turnarounds in the state.”

Neal will continue working toward his goals at the next level with KU on the diamond, on the field, and in the classroom, where he plans to major in Physical Therapy.

The KFBCA Top 11* and All-State selections consist of seniors from the Class of 2021 nominated and voted on by members of the Kansas Football Coaches Association. For more info about the KFBCA find them online at www.kfbca.com. 

*There are actually 12 Top 11 selections this year because of a tie in voting.