For all Nick Saban has accomplished, sending top-shelf prospects into the NFL with assembly-line precision, none of his Crimson Tide players has ever been the No. 1 pick.
There was a time when Evan Neal said he would, if not pig out, certainly give in to temptation. That meant devouring not one, but two of his favorite fast food cravings: a Chick-Fil-A spicy meal combo.“These days’’ are spent training and preparing for the NFL draft. Neal will hear his name called early on the night of April 28, not long after the first round begins.
“It would mean everything. There are a whole lot of Alabama players who were worthy of being drafted in that spot. For it to be me would be really special. Make the whole state of Alabama proud, the university for sure.’’The Jaguars own the No. 1 pick and they are not expected to go with Neal, but you never know. Heck, Neal might not be the first offensive lineman to hear his name, as Ickey Ekwonu from North Carolina State could be first off the board.
There are no questions about Neal’s NFL readiness as an immediate starter at left or right tackle. The only concern from scouts is whether he will accept being very good at the expense of working to be great. The upside potential in Neal, his ceiling, might not be as high as a team desires out of a top-five draft pick.There is not much more Neal could have accomplished as a college player. He was a three-year starter at left guard, right tackle and left tackle.
“That’s what you go to college for, to put it on tape,” Neal said. “The NFL is going to watch it, and that’s what they judge you based on. The tape.”“His size and athletic ability has put him in a position where I think he has a very bright future,” Saban said. “He did a great job for us, whether he played guard or tackle. I’m sure that diversity will help him as a pro player as well.
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