Aug. 18, 2008
There is a motto that the veteran UCF secondary abides by on a daily basis. Whether, they are on the field or off the field, it is simply: brother's keeper.
That was no more apparent than the days and weeks following the shooting of one of their own on May 9. Home for a graduation celebration, Johnell Neal was inexplicably shot four times in an ambush attack on his front porch at his home in Baton Rouge, La.
Neal had just gotten home from Orlando where his mother and grandmother had come to watch him walk across the stage and earn the first college degree that a member of his mother's side of the family had ever received. Neal graduated with a degree in criminology and wants to pursue a career with the F.B.I. when his playing days are over.
"That was a big feat for me," Neal said. "It felt really good to accomplish one of my goals."
When Neal left Orlando for Baton Rouge in early May he was in the process of moving into an apartment with fellow cornerback Joe Burnett. That process was delayed slightly, but when he arrived back on campus he saw that motto of brother's keeper in a tangible way.
"When I got back, everything had already been moved," Neal added. "That really helped because I was not going to be able to move all of that furniture. They have really been there for me since day one. I got calls from all the guys and they gave me moral support and told me they wanted me back. It helps when you are down and out to know that people really care about you and want you to get better. It really helped hearing from the guys on the team."
By all accounts, Neal is lucky to have the chance to even finish his final season of eligibility for the Knights. "When it first happened, the doctors could not really give me an expectation," he added. "They waited until I got back to Orlando and met with a nerve doctor because the nerve in my arm was the main focus. They wanted to make sure it was not severed and they looked at it and told me I should fully recover."
Fully recover is probably an understatement considering where Neal is at as the season quickly approaches. With the help of football trainer Mary Vander Heiden and her staff, Neal has been able to speed up his rehab process and is well ahead of where his coaches and teammates thought he would be.
"I came to the training room every day, sometimes twice a day, and worked really hard at rehab and we got ahead of schedule," Neal said. "Mary has worked hard with me every day since day one, making sure I did everything right."
And in late June, less than two months after the shooting, Neal was working out and conditioning with his teammates at full speed. "It feels great. I am not restricted at all," he added. "I am doing everything."
With his senior season on the horizon and knowing he is an integral part of what could be one of the best defensive units at UCF in recent memory, Neal says the team's focus is winning back-to-back championships.
"Back-to-back. That is what we are working for every day," Neal said. "That is how we break down after every workout, saying `back-to-back'. That is our goal for this year and we feel like we can really go out there and compete for another conference championship."