Louisville football: Breaking down the 2023 transfer portal defensive players
By Jake Hook
Devin Neal – Safety/ Star – Baylor – 3-Star Transfer
The former Lexington native, and runner-up for Kentucky Player of the Year in high school, decided to come back to the Bluegrass in Mid-December.
Neal spent his first three seasons at Baylor University, playing sparingly in his first two years; but he saw a huge uptick in play last season, appearing in 11 games and starting in seven.
Neal split duties playing as a safety and at Baylor’s ‘STAR’ position last year. The star position is a hybrid role between a safety and an outside linebacker where a player can line up on the line, next to the linebackers, or as a nickel cornerback. This position is also expected to be utilized often in Louisville’s new defensive scheme.
In his final season with the Bears, Neal finished with 41 tackles, 2 for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions. Neal comes in as a jack of all trades that can pressure the quarterback, make open-field tackles, and drop into coverage.
So good from Devin Neal. Speed, awareness, and instincts. Most safeties are not able to execute this combination of running full sleep, flipping the hips, locating the ball, and then making the catch. pic.twitter.com/qRLhQd4PiY
— Travis Roeder (@Travis_Roeder) November 20, 2022
Neal is number 14 here and comes up with an interception.
Neal comes into Louisville with a full season of high-level experience in the Big-12 playing in that star role that Louisville will use, as well. The combination of Neal’s versatility on the field and experience in the role could lead to him cracking the starting lineup week in and week out.