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Davonte Neal to Transfer

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Davonte Neal, a five-star recruit who saw limited time and effectiveness on the field in 2012, is transferring. The father of a young child, Neal is the latest of the Class of 2012’s big gets to walk away. We here at HLS wish him well.

Remember when Deontay Greenberry “got away” as a recruit? It was Davonte Neal to the rescue and our Editor-in-Chief, Tex, was all over the comparison. Still, once the hubbub of Signing Day and the day Davonte actually signed faded away, the freshman failed to break into Kelly’s scheme. He notched one lone reception for five yards over the entire 2012 campaign. As a return man, Neal was similarly ineffective, returning 21 times for a total of 46 yards (you do the math), including a dismal showing in the National Championship Game in which he fumbled once and managed only two total yards on three returns (you do the math).

While his 2012 peformance was underwhelming, losing Neal hurts, given his crazy physical talents and the room he had to improve over time. Still, with the returning receivers and William Fuller coming in, the Irish are probably in good shape. The most glaring hole at this time is on special teams, where ND’s struggles are now measured in seasons and Neal was, if only for a moment, the perceived solution.

Only time will tell and hopefully time will be kind to Davonte Neal and Notre Dame.

Coach Kelly will address the media tomorrow morning.

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Co-Editor
Hating Hurricanes Since 1990.

Bayou Irish is a Jersey boy and Double Domer who fell under New Orleans' spell in 1995. He's been through Katrina and fourteen years in the Coast Guard, so we cut him some slack, mostly in the form of HLS-subsidized sazeracs. But, when he's not face down on the bar and communing with the ghosts of Faulkner and Capote at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone, he's our man in SEC-land, doing his best to convince everyone around him that Graduation Success Rate is a better indicator of success than the number of MNC's won in the last five years.

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Comments

  1. Irish96

    Ugh. This is why I hate being such an ND foot ball addict during the spring. Seems like every year the headlines are dominated by “Player x is transferring” “Player y is injured” and “Player z has been arrested”. I guess it’s just the nature of spring ball. Good luck to DN, hope he has a successful career. Will he have to sit out 2013?

      • NDtex

        There is a chance that Neal could play in the 2013 season. He can petition the NCAA to say his transfer was caused by unanticipated circumstances. Amir Carlisle used this same exception successfully last season with his circumstance being his family moving to Indiana (however, injury wiped out that year for him anyways).

        I haven’t seen anything specific for the situation with Neal and his kid; however, the general consensus was that Neal was trying to get everyone to move closer to ND so he could be a good father, but that didn’t workout. Thus, he’s moving to be closer to his child.

        An (assumed) unplanned pregnancy coupled with a potential move falling through could very well fall under this “unanticipated circumstances”, but, of course, final judgement will be up to the NCAA.