'10 GA RB Rajion Neal

[the.one.the.only]

Well I was born and raised in Tennessee so I have orange blood but I am a student at Mississippi State. Losing Neal would be a huge blow to our to our upper tier (for Mississippi State) recruiting class. He was supposed to be one of the guys to replace Anthony Dixon here in Starkville.

But I guess as long as he stays between MSU and UT I can be happy either way.

You willingly moved from Tennessee to Starkville? Wow

 

[rjd970]

He won't beat out Bryce Brown... can say that for certain.

You're probably right, but nothing wrong with throwing back there with Oku to return kicks.

 

[MSU_BullVol]

You willingly moved from Tennessee to Starkville? Wow

No, actually I didn't.

 

[tmac5469]

Sounds like a good explosive back, just what we need.

 

[MSU_BullVol]

To be completely honest, I do not see how UT could take Raijon from MSU. Yes, Tennessee offers more tradition and a higher percentage chance of winning, but Mississippi State can offer a solid opportunity to start as a freshman and just as fresh of a coaching staff as Tennessee. Plus, he has been committed to Mississippi State for quite a while now.

But either way, I'm happy that Raijon is considering my two schools.

 

[Volfan76]

To be completely honest, I do not see how UT could take Raijon from MSU. Yes, Tennessee offers more tradition and a higher percentage chance of winning, but Mississippi State can offer a solid opportunity to start as a freshman and just as fresh of a coaching staff as Tennessee. Plus, he has been committed to Mississippi State for quite a while now.

But either way, I'm happy that Raijon is considering my two schools.

Starting UT LB>Starting MSU RB

 

[MSU_BullVol]

Starting UT LB>Starting MSU RB

This guy is too talented as a runningback to be changed over like that. Also, don't under rate the opportunities of being a starting running back at Mississippi State. It's a run-oriented offense and the last 2 starting running backs have gone on to the NFL. (See Jerious Norwood and Anthony Dixon)

 

[TBrown]

This guy is too talented as a runningback to be changed over like that. Also, don't under rate the opportunities of being a starting running back at Mississippi State. It's a run-oriented offense and the last 2 starting running backs have gone on to the NFL. (See Jerious Norwood and Anthony Dixon)

Norwood has another gear and Dixon is just a flat out beast.

Welcome to the board. I like the avatar, did you just make it?

Were you at the Pony with the three amigos?

 

[MSU_BullVol]

Norwood has another gear and Dixon is just a flat out beast.

Welcome to the board. I like the avatar, did you just make it?

Were you at the Pony with the three amigos?

Yeah, a little work on Paint did the trick

And as for the 3 amigos, I have no clue what you're talking about, lol.

 

[GoBigOrangeVols]

I watched Neal's senior year highlight video. It is the best video I have seen from any athlete in this entire class...hands down. If you haven't seen it this kid is explosive. I honeslty believe he is better than Dyer, Lattimore, Seastrunk, etc. Holy cow!!!!!

YouTube - Rajion Neal #25 RB 2010

disagree with a lot of what you said.

A) he runs standing straight up. You have to play a lot lower at the next level. He looks a lot taller on film than the 5'11 he is listed at which is probably a good indicator that the level of teams he was playing wasn't that great (most of the kids trying to tackle him are significantly smaller than 5'11)

B) Just about every run he makes he tries to bounce outside and tries to avoid the middle of the field and contact. It works for him at that level because he is faster than the other kids but he won't be in the SEC, not even close. He doesn't appear to be a physical runner at all.

C) when he gets caught he goes down very easily. He doesn't appear to like contact and that just won't work. You have to be able to get through the first tackle and he doesn't show that ability.

D) He has good speed, but not break away speed. He does a good job of trying to find open lanes but his instinct is always to try to bounce the play to the outside when chances are there are plenty of holes up the middle.

E) its probably a product of the offense run at his high school, but I only saw one play where he caught a pass and it was actually a backwards lateral. Going to be hard to come in and play right away if he doesn't have the skill set to play on third down and chip a lineman then catch a pass out of the backfield.

F) His team has more uniform combinations than any HS I have ever seen. They may rival Oregon for most uniform combinations ever.

JMO from that 9 minute film clip.

All that said, sign him up. We need bodies.

 

[TBrown]

Yeah, a little work on Paint did the trick

And as for the 3 amigos, I have no clue what you're talking about, lol.

3 of your recruits mentioned the Pony being the best part of the visit. When asked about it, they said they were joking. Little investigation going on.

 

[MSU_BullVol]

3 of your recruits mentioned the Pony being the best part of the visit. When asked about it, they said they were joking. Little investigation going on.

Doesn't surprise me. There's really not much to advertise in Starkville besides the Pony!

 

[Volfan76]

This guy is too talented as a runningback to be changed over like that. Also, don't under rate the opportunities of being a starting running back at Mississippi State. It's a run-oriented offense and the last 2 starting running backs have gone on to the NFL. (See Jerious Norwood and Anthony Dixon)

Those are some big names there... a back up and a 4th round projection. Let me throw a few at ya...Jerod Mayo, Al Wilson, Leonard Little, Raynoch Thompson. This is UT not MSU.

 

[TBrown]

disagree with a lot of what you said.

A) he runs standing straight up. You have to play a lot lower at the next level. He looks a lot taller on film than the 5'11 he is listed at which is probably a good indicator that the level of teams he was playing wasn't that great (most of the kids trying to tackle him are significantly smaller than 5'11)

B) Just about every run he makes he tries to bounce outside and tries to avoid the middle of the field and contact. It works for him at that level because he is faster than the other kids but he won't be in the SEC, not even close. He doesn't appear to be a physical runner at all.

C) when he gets caught he goes down very easily. He doesn't appear to like contact and that just won't work. You have to be able to get through the first tackle and he doesn't show that ability.

D) He has good speed, but not break away speed. He does a good job of trying to find open lanes but his instinct is always to try to bounce the play to the outside when chances are there are plenty of holes up the middle.

E) its probably a product of the offense run at his high school, but I only saw one play where he caught a pass and it was actually a backwards lateral. Going to be hard to come in and play right away if he doesn't have the skill set to play on third down and chip a lineman then catch a pass out of the backfield.

F) His team has more uniform combinations than any HS I have ever seen. They may rival Oregon for most uniform combinations ever.

JMO from that 9 minute film clip.

All that said, sign him up. We need bodies.

I'm going to assume we didn't watch the same video.

 

[MSU_BullVol]

Those are some big names there... a back up and a 4th round projection. Let me throw a few at ya...Jerod Mayo, Al Wilson, Leonard Little, Raynoch Thompson. This is UT not MSU.

Trust me, I know the differences between UT and MSU, I'm a fan of both. And, you're correct, Jerious Norwood is a backup (though, he plays all the time and I'd gladly take his salary). Anthony Dixon is the 5th best rated Senior runningback in the NCAA, which is not bad for little ole' Mississippi State.

I'm just saying this kid is finding and exploiting the holes at one level, and you want him to come up to the next level and learn to close up those holes without skipping a beat. If Tennessee does bring him in, he will be a runningback and I'd put money on that.

I just don't see how you could choose to be a backup behind Bryce Brown for 2-3 more years over starting for the next 3-4 at MSU.

Then again, I don't see why Jesse Scroggins chooses the backup path at USC over a potential starting path at UT. We'll see how it all folds out.

 

[Demon_Vol]

Trust me, I know the differences between UT and MSU, I'm a fan of both. And, you're correct, Jerious Norwood is a backup (though, he plays all the time and I'd gladly take his salary). Anthony Dixon is the 5th best rated Senior runningback in the NCAA, which is not bad for little ole' Mississippi State.

I'm just saying this kid is finding and exploiting the holes at one level, and you want him to come up to the next level and learn to close up those holes without skipping a beat. If Tennessee does bring him in, he will be a runningback and I'd put money on that.

I just don't see how you could choose to be a backup behind Bryce Brown for 2-3 more years over starting for the next 3-4 at MSU.

Then again, I don't see why Jesse Scroggins chooses the backup path at USC over a potential starting path at UT. We'll see how it all folds out.

Some of UT's most successful LB's over the years have been converted RB's and FB's. The instincts involved in finding the open hole serve you well when trying to stuff it shut. Plus they're usually more athletic and speedy than pure LB's coming out of high school.

 

[GoBigOrangeVols]

I'm going to assume we didn't watch the same video.

ha. the one I watched was the youtube video the poster above linked. you disagree with my analysis?

 

[chavisut]

I doubt he switches to LB.

 

[Volfan76]

Trust me, I know the differences between UT and MSU, I'm a fan of both. And, you're correct, Jerious Norwood is a backup (though, he plays all the time and I'd gladly take his salary). Anthony Dixon is the 5th best rated Senior runningback in the NCAA, which is not bad for little ole' Mississippi State.

I'm just saying this kid is finding and exploiting the holes at one level, and you want him to come up to the next level and learn to close up those holes without skipping a beat. If Tennessee does bring him in, he will be a runningback and I'd put money on that.

I just don't see how you could choose to be a backup behind Bryce Brown for 2-3 more years over starting for the next 3-4 at MSU.

Then again, I don't see why Jesse Scroggins chooses the backup path at USC over a potential starting path at UT. We'll see how it all folds out.

We will see if he commits but given our need at lb and the short amount of time before nsd I wouldn't be surprised if thats what they are focusing on. Especially since we seem to be out of it with Nelson and things aren't looking great for Christian Jones.

 

[MSU_BullVol]

Some of UT's most successful LB's over the years have been converted RB's and FB's. The instincts involved in finding the open hole serve you well when trying to stuff it shut. Plus they're usually more athletic and speedy than pure LB's coming out of high school.

A couple of good points. I have no doubts that Lance Thompson could bring out any potential on defense this guy may have.

This guy has been the word of mouth around Mississippi State's campus as our "next big runningback." Like I said, this would be a huge blow to MSU.

I'll quietly support whichever of the two he chooses. As long as he chooses either UT or MSU.

 

[TBrown]

ha. the one I watched was the youtube video the poster above linked. you disagree with my analysis?

Same video, I was just giving you a hard time. I will give you A & F. D can be debated, hard to tell or define speed from breakaway speed on a low quality youtube video, but dude is fast.

As far as being afraid of contact and trying to bounce everything outside - There were several (the majority) plays were he hit the hole and got up field. Some of the plays were designed for him to get to the outside. I don't think he went down too easily. He also put his head down and finished a few runs.

There were a couple of plays were he just said, "Screw this, I'm going outside no matter what." However, most of the runs he bounced outside required great vision. I agree that he's probably just faster than everyone else he played against and that won't be the same at the next level, however I don't think you should discredit the kid for doing what works.

I think he was patient in waiting for the holes to open and he showed great burst. Runs a little too upright but can work on that. I thought he had great vision.

 

[TBrown]

Also, I saw him catch 3 passes..not 1

 

[tdbigorange11]

Great mix of power and speed... prototypical RB size with outstanding vision.

If I was him and UT wanted me to come play LB and MSU wanted me at RB... well i would still go to UT but i am a little bias.

 

[aaronvol]

I'm going to assume we didn't watch the same video.

my thoughts exactly.

 

[aaronvol]

disagree with a lot of what you said.

A) he runs standing straight up. You have to play a lot lower at the next level. He looks a lot taller on film than the 5'11 he is listed at which is probably a good indicator that the level of teams he was playing wasn't that great (most of the kids trying to tackle him are significantly smaller than 5'11)

B) Just about every run he makes he tries to bounce outside and tries to avoid the middle of the field and contact. It works for him at that level because he is faster than the other kids but he won't be in the SEC, not even close. He doesn't appear to be a physical runner at all.

C) when he gets caught he goes down very easily. He doesn't appear to like contact and that just won't work. You have to be able to get through the first tackle and he doesn't show that ability.

D) He has good speed, but not break away speed. He does a good job of trying to find open lanes but his instinct is always to try to bounce the play to the outside when chances are there are plenty of holes up the middle.

E) its probably a product of the offense run at his high school, but I only saw one play where he caught a pass and it was actually a backwards lateral. Going to be hard to come in and play right away if he doesn't have the skill set to play on third down and chip a lineman then catch a pass out of the backfield.

F) His team has more uniform combinations than any HS I have ever seen. They may rival Oregon for most uniform combinations ever.

JMO from that 9 minute film clip.

All that said, sign him up. We need bodies.

I think he caught more than 1. He does buonce outside a lot (BECAUSE HE CAN) and that is definitely something you can't coach (speed). I thought he finished runs very well, always gains 3 yds after big contact and breaks just about every arm tackle in the video. Runs up the middle a lot and seems to have great speed. Not so sure that he is going up against the best competition (which is what everyone said about BB last year) but there is one run where a LB takes him from behind in teh corner of the endzone...I want that LB...