FOOTBALL: Yorktown quarterback chooses to stay in Muncie

<p></p>

Riley Neal  

The decision of where to play college football was one that Yorktown quarterback Riley Neal said was easy.

He was staying home.

“I knew that I was going to Ball State,” Neal said. “I’m familiar with [the school]. And the last three to four years, they have been one of the top teams in the [Mid-American Conference].”

A quarterback since the third grade, when his father realized he wasn’t a very good tackler, Neal has matured into a dangerous pocket passer.

As a junior at Yorktown High School last season, Neal threw for 2,751 yards and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 35 to five. He led the Tigers to a 10-2 record, as well as to the sectional finals.

Neal’s high school success did not go unnoticed, as top college football programs such as Michigan and Miami showed interest in the up and coming gunslinger.

In the end, Neal turned down offers from Illinois State and fellow MAC school Central Michigan. On June 21, he gave his commitment to remain in Muncie.

With both his father and his uncle being Cardinals football alumni, there is a sense of comfort in familiarity for Neal.

He was recruited to the university by offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Lynch, who like Neal was a local product, having attended Delta High School before becoming the Cardinals’ quarterback in 2003.

“I love coach Lynch,” Neal said. “I’ve known him forever. I’ve known him since his time at Ball State.”

Neal said staying close to home was not something that Lynch pitched to him during the recruiting process, but instead used the opportunity to play for a top program in the MAC as his selling point.

The pro-style offense the Cardinals have run successfully under head coach Pete Lembo was another factor that ultimately led Neal to Ball State.

Neal said he saw what former Ball State and current Baltimore Ravens quarterback Keith Wenning was able to accomplish in Lembo’s system and feels that he also has the skills to take advantage of the Cardinals’ pass-oriented playbook.

At 6-foot-5, the 17-year-old Neal is listed as three inches taller than Wenning, who became the program’s most decorated passer during his four years wearing Cardinal red.

With a year of high school still remaining, Neal said he has yet to think about what he would like to accomplish during his collegiate career and that his current focus is on bringing a state title to Yorktown.

Comments

More from The Daily






This Week's Digital Issue


Loading Recent Classifieds...