One of the most shocking moments this week was seeing weight gained and lost by Alabama football players.
Defensive players such as Chris Braswell, Drew Sanders, Malachi Moore, Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Terrion Arnold experienced significant weight gains. Other names such as Christopher Allen, LaBryan Ray, Kendrick Blackshire, Chris Owens, and Javion Cohen dropped weight to remain in elite playing condition.
The biggest weight lost offensively was Evan Neal at left tackle.
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When he arrived in the Crimson Tide’s 2019 recruiting class, Neal was 360 pounds. The 6-foot-7 specimen was a five-star athlete from Florida who played at IMG Academy. After spending his first season at offensive guard, Neal started all 13 games at right tackle last year.
Despite his size, he contributed to Mac Jones being the second-least sacked quarterback in college football.
Neal pushed Alabama’s offensive unit to a Joe Moore Award, a Southeastern Conference title, and a College Football Playoff National Championship. He assisted three Heisman finalists — Jones, Najee Harris, and DeVonta Smith — while his protection to Jones allowed Smith to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
Neal returns as one of the three veterans on the line, but he’s back at 15 pounds lighter. During the summer, he performed a 48-inch box jump with David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea at 345 pounds.
He jumped 36 inches in 2020, and Neal credits his athleticism to his parents.
According to Nick Saban, he said Neal can sustain better on assignments at his new weight.
“Evan is very unique, in terms of he has great size, he has great athleticism, but what is most important is that he is a hard worker,” Saban said. “He has a lot of goals and aspirations for how good he wants to be. He is a bit of a perfectionist, but he also has good intangibles. He plays with toughness, especially mental toughness. He’s spent a lot of time getting his body right because he used to be much bigger than what he is now. He is very conscious. He does not make mental errors.”
Saban said left tackle is a more ‘natural’ position for Neal.
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Will Anderson Jr., a sophomore outside linebacker, practices against Neal every day.
He concluded his freshman season by getting named to the Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American teams. Anderson totaled seven sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hurries. He credits his success to the challenge Neal presents him at practice with every snap.
“That man is very talented,” Anderson said. “And somebody his size that can move like that, that is what you come to Alabama for. You come to against players like that. I would not want to go up against anyone else but Evan. He is helping the outside linebackers and the defensive line get better.”
Christian Harris, a junior inside linebacker, said it is a battle every day versus Neal.
“Evan is a great guy,” he said. “Evan is humongous. You have no choice but to get better against Evan.”
Neal is a preseason All-SEC and All-American honoree. He is a preseason candidate on multiple award watch lists and eyes an opportunity to be a top-five selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
