NU adds grad transfer Safety Tre Neal from UCF....

[HBK4life]

https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/huskers-add-ucf-starting-safety-neal-as-a-graduate-transfer
We are starting to get a better idea of how Nebraska plans to answer the major questions they have in their secondary heading into the 2018 season.

HuskerOnline.com confirmed that Central Florida starting safety

RANK
5.4
-
NATIONAL
-
STATE
-
POSITION
Tre
Neal

RANK
5.4
6'2" | 185 lbs | S
Buford
Buford, GA
CLASS OF 2014

SIGNED LOI
2/4/2014
UCF will follow his former head coach Scott Frost to NU as a graduate transfer.


A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to HuskerOnline Neal has been granted his release from UCF, and Nebraska is not restricted as one of his options.

Neal is set to graduate from UCF at the end of this month, and from there he will be admitted into graduate school at NU and be immediately eligible for the 2018 season.

The Atlanta native was fourth on UCF's team last year with 68 total tackles, 41 of which were solo stops. Neal also added three interceptions and was UCF's second-leading tackler returning for the 2018 season

The 6-foot-1, 215 pound Neal started all 13 games for the Knights in 2017 and saw action in 38 games the last three seasons, making 18 career starts.

During the 2017 season, Neal intercepted a pass in double-overtime against Memphis, that sealed the AAC title for UCF, and clinched a birth in the Peach Bowl.

In UCF's Peach Bowl win over Auburn, Neal recovered a fumble and returned it 36 yards to go
along with seven tackles and one pass break-up.

Neal becomes the second UCF players to follow Frost to Lincoln. Former Wahoo (Neb.) Bishop Neumann quarterback Noah Vedral also followed Frost Nebraska as a walk-on but was put on scholarship in May after being granted his release by Central Florida.

 

[Metalfan]

Brings someone in who knows the system. Can play and help teach the system to the rest of the guys.

Er Tre Neal. Not sure why I put Smith in the title lol

 

[SoFL Husker]

Nice! Great transfer.

 

[cubsker]

that's worth a Boom!

 

[headcard]

Reed and Smith back at safety. Plus a JUCO, two HS 4-stars and now a grad transfer. I wish we were stacked like this at CB.

 

[jrhuskerdad]

From his UCF bio (note big play ability in big games at end of season!)

R-JUNIOR (2017)
• Started all 13 games as a safety
• Fourth on the team with 68 tackles, which includes 41 unassisted and two for loss
• Added three interceptions and three pass break-ups
• FIU (8/31): Picked off a pass and added five stops
• Memphis (9/30): Recorded five tackles, including two unassisted
• at Cincinnati (10/7): Amassed four unassisted tackles
• ECU (10/14): Returned an interception for a 50-yard touchdown and tallied three tackles
• at Navy (10/21): Had four tackles, including three unassisted
• Austin Peay (10/28): Notched four tackles
• at SMU (11/4): Totaled eight tackles, including one for loss, and had one forced fumble
• UConn (11/11): Registered five tackles and one break-up
• at Temple (11/18): Had five tackles, including three solo
• South Florida (11/24): Collected seven tackles
• Memphis (12/2): Sealed the victory with an interception in double overtime of The American Championship...Also recorded eight tackles and a break-up
• vs. Auburn (1/1): Recovered a fumble and returned it 36 yards, adding seven tackles and a pass break-up in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

http://ucfknights.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=305

 

[jlb321]

Will add depth

Projected as 4th team American athletic conference for this upcoming year by Athlon

Was not named to the honorable mention team last year

 

[DudznSudz]

As a grad transfer, does that mean we get him for 1 year or 2?

 

[Buckman01213]

As a grad transfer, does that mean we get him for 1 year or 2?

He's played three, so he only has one year of eligibility left

 

[HBK4life]

https://www.cornnation.com/2018/7/20/17596612/nebraska-football-ucf-safety-tre-neal-grad-transfer

A few things regarding Tre Neal: -He was a fantastic representative of UCF. His double-OT interception vs. Memphis will always be an iconic play. -Nebraska did not recruit Tre. Tre initiated contact.

 

[bshirt73]

Oh yeah......we'll take him.......excellent!! Welcome Mr Neal!!

 

[scarletred]

that's worth a Boom!

That’s definitely a double boom...
Improving the secondary is huge this year.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

Yes please.

 

[CameronKrazie86]

Guessing he's got a great chance to start with his familiarity with the coaches and system. Will always be happy to add talented players with experience to the team.

 

[huskerssalts]

This is huge, he can come in and play this year. And unlike anyone else that comes in, he won’t have a learning curve. He’s already 2 years into Frosts/Chins defense screams. He will have a jump start on all the other DBs. Not sure if he’s got more talent or if he’s flat out better then the DBs that may have started before he came but he will definitely have the system down and can help the starters assuming he doesn’t win the spot.

 

[TheBeav815]

Great to hear! NU needs all the immediate depth chart upgrades it can get.

 

[HBK4life]

He will join a secondary that has plenty of question marks. Senior safeties Aaron Williams and Antonio Reed played extensively in 2017, but Williams has battled injuries throughout his career and Reed has never been a full-time starter.



Among other returners, junior Avery Anderson has been a career reserve and sophomore JoJo Domann has battled knee injuries for nearly two years, while sophomore Marquel Dismuke was a part-time player last fall.

The Huskers added junior-college sophomore Deontai Williams this winter and are high on incoming freshmen C.J. Smith and Cam Jones.

The day Neal steps on campus, though, he will be the Husker defender most experienced and most familiar with both secondary coach Travis Fisher and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. Neal's addition would put the Huskers at 83 scholarship players.
https://journalstar.com/sports/husk...al&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

 

[huskerhooligansdotcom]

This is a terrific development. Should be able to immediately provide meaningful depth, if not become the full time starter. Looks like he has a knack for big plays: He had the game winning pick against Memphis, a long fumble recovery in the bowl game against Auburn, a pick six against Navy, and a blocked kick as a sophomore.

 

[oldjar07]

I'll go against the grain a little bit here. We still have a massive need at CB and don't know if this will help us much as he's a safety, a position we already have good depth and decent talent. If we're going to go with a grad transfer, I'd rather see it as a CB or OL, two positions we have a massive need for this year.

I also wasn't impressed with UCF's safety play a lot of times last year. They seemed to give up a lot of big plays at times. I'm not sure if that was Neal's fault or was mostly on other guys.

However anytime you can add a starter from a team that finished undefeated to your roster, that has to be a good thing. Even if he doesn't start, he will push the other players to get better.

 

[headcard]

I'll go against the grain a little bit here. We still have a massive need at CB and don't know if this will help us much as he's a safety, a position we already have good depth and decent talent. If we're going to go with a grad transfer, I'd rather see it as a CB or OL, two positions we have a massive need for this year.

I also wasn't impressed with UCF's safety play a lot of times last year. They seemed to give up a lot of big plays at times. I'm not sure if that was Neal's fault or was mostly on other guys.

However anytime you can add a starter from a team that finished undefeated to your roster, that has to be a good thing. Even if he doesn't start, he will push the other players to get better.

I agree about having bigger needs, but I'm guessing this was one of those deals were we had the space and Neal came calling.

 

[footnfan1]

Tre is a GREAT young man. Good for him.#ChargeOn Time to go undefeated again.

Go gettem Tre. Leave your mark in Lincoln.

 

[spacecoastknight]

I'll go against the grain a little bit here. We still have a massive need at CB and don't know if this will help us much as he's a safety, a position we already have good depth and decent talent. If we're going to go with a grad transfer, I'd rather see it as a CB or OL, two positions we have a massive need for this year.

I also wasn't impressed with UCF's safety play a lot of times last year. They seemed to give up a lot of big plays at times. I'm not sure if that was Neal's fault or was mostly on other guys.

However anytime you can add a starter from a team that finished undefeated to your roster, that has to be a good thing. Even if he doesn't start, he will push the other players to get better.

Tre is a great kid. He's guaranteed to start in Nebraska under Fisher.

He has a knack of making big plays but you had good observations, he was the weakest link in our 4 man secondary last year in giving up big plays. Also, under new DC Randy Shannon, Richie Grant beat him out as a starter this spring. UCF has a ton of talent at safety.

Either way, Chinander and Fisher really like him and I expect him to start at Nebraska Game 1. Tre Neal wants to be a grad asst and get into coaching after next year; one of the major reasons he transferred.

 

[Cornicator]

I'll go against the grain a little bit here. We still have a massive need at CB and don't know if this will help us much as he's a safety, a position we already have good depth and decent talent. If we're going to go with a grad transfer, I'd rather see it as a CB or OL, two positions we have a massive need for this year.

I also wasn't impressed with UCF's safety play a lot of times last year. They seemed to give up a lot of big plays at times. I'm not sure if that was Neal's fault or was mostly on other guys.

However anytime you can add a starter from a team that finished undefeated to your roster, that has to be a good thing. Even if he doesn't start, he will push the other players to get better.

This is a strange take.

1. Nebraska's safeties were awful last season. Aaron Williams is too small to play the run in the Big Ten. Antonio Reed is to injury prone to ever develop any consistency.

2. JoJo Domann is probably one of the best players on the whole roster, but after enduring now 2 ACL tears in 3 years, its unlikely he will ever be productive.

3. Dismuke is a fierce head hunter and great athlete, but he spends too much energy trying to be a head hunter. He also hated the weight room the last two years.

4. Avery Anderson will never play. Hes one of the most overrated and overvalued recruits to ever sign at Nebraska.

5. The future of the position is Cam Jones and CJ Smith. These guys are special talents. But they are freshmen, and you can't start two true freshmen at the safety spots.

6. Neal is a place holder, who brings leadership and experience to the position.He can also help Reed and Aaron Williams guide the young guys.

And one last thing, the safeties play a lot of "chicken" in this scheme. They will bait the hell out of you. They are going to get beaten. This scheme is risky. It will surrender big plays. Its built on producing turnovers and limiting possessions. In theory, it's designed to make sure the offense can constantly add to the scoreboard.

As for the take about the CB depth, that really has nothing to do with bringing Neal into the program. Is Frost supposed to tell a Grad Transfer with 18 starts in this system, "no, you can't come here. we need cornerbacks?"

The Grad Transfer market is not baseball free agency. You can't just write a check for an all American.

 

[bshirt73]

This is a strange take.

1. Nebraska's safeties were awful last season. Aaron Williams is too small to play the run in the Big Ten. Antonio Reed is to injury prone to ever develop any consistency.

2. JoJo Domann is probably one of the best players on the whole roster, but after enduring now 2 ACL tears in 3 years, its unlikely he will ever be productive.

3. Dismuke is a fierce head hunter and great athlete, but he spends too much energy trying to be a head hunter. He also hated the weight room the last two years.

4. Avery Anderson will never play. Hes one of the most overrated and overvalued recruits to ever sign at Nebraska.

5. The future of the position is Cam Jones and CJ Smith. These guys are special talents. But they are freshmen, and you can't start two true freshmen at the safety spots.

6. Neal is a place holder, who brings leadership and experience to the position.He can also help Reed and Aaron Williams guide the young guys.

And one last thing, the safeties play a lot of "chicken" in this scheme. They will bait the hell out of you. They are going to get beaten. This scheme is risky. It will surrender big plays. Its built on producing turnovers and limiting possessions. In theory, it's designed to make sure the offense can constantly add to the scoreboard.

As for the take about the CB depth, that really has nothing to do with bringing Neal into the program. Is Frost supposed to tell a Grad Transfer with 18 starts in this system, "no, you can't come here. we need cornerbacks?"

The Grad Transfer market is not baseball free agency. You can't just write a check for an all American.

Very interesting post sir. I "love" the aggressive defense we'll have. Sure.....they'll get burned sometimes. But it's 10,000 times better than watching last year's defense get run over by everybody. Let the chips fall where they may.

A great, great get!

 

[dali drama]

 

[DudznSudz]

I like that we picked this guy up, for all of the reasons stated above. I also like the direction a few of you went with discussing the defensive philosophy. Unfortunately, I don't know much about how this defense will work (I didn't watch enough UCF last year, just the bowl game really). I feel like the line play is easy to understand; they attack, attack, attack. Blow up O-linemen, get an OLB or DE hybrid guy or even a safety rushing in after the QB, etc.

However, I don't really know much about how the CB's and Safeties will play. Can some of you guys elaborate on that point? My guess is, again, its aggressive and meant to scare an offense into making mistakes and creating turnovers, and that yes, it also leaves the defense open to get blown up by a big play, but can some of you give me more info?

Also, I'm not sure what the hell we were watching last year on D, but maybe try comparing the two? Both are, ostensibly, 3-4 fronts, but what made our D so damn weak last year?

 

[williepoos]

This is a strange take.

1. Nebraska's safeties were awful last season. Aaron Williams is too small to play the run in the Big Ten. Antonio Reed is to injury prone to ever develop any consistency.

2. JoJo Domann is probably one of the best players on the whole roster, but after enduring now 2 ACL tears in 3 years, its unlikely he will ever be productive.

3. Dismuke is a fierce head hunter and great athlete, but he spends too much energy trying to be a head hunter. He also hated the weight room the last two years.

4. Avery Anderson will never play. Hes one of the most overrated and overvalued recruits to ever sign at Nebraska.

5. The future of the position is Cam Jones and CJ Smith. These guys are special talents. But they are freshmen, and you can't start two true freshmen at the safety spots.

6. Neal is a place holder, who brings leadership and experience to the position.He can also help Reed and Aaron Williams guide the young guys.

And one last thing, the safeties play a lot of "chicken" in this scheme. They will bait the hell out of you. They are going to get beaten. This scheme is risky. It will surrender big plays. Its built on producing turnovers and limiting possessions. In theory, it's designed to make sure the offense can constantly add to the scoreboard.

As for the take about the CB depth, that really has nothing to do with bringing Neal into the program. Is Frost supposed to tell a Grad Transfer with 18 starts in this system, "no, you can't come here. we need cornerbacks?"

The Grad Transfer market is not baseball free agency. You can't just write a check for an all American.

wow thats a lot of players who aren't going to play. if i were them i would transfer. frost obviously doesn't believe in them. is doing everything possible to replace them. the writing is on the wall. they should walk

 

[huskerhooligansdotcom]

I like that we picked this guy up, for all of the reasons stated above. I also like the direction a few of you went with discussing the defensive philosophy. Unfortunately, I don't know much about how this defense will work (I didn't watch enough UCF last year, just the bowl game really). I feel like the line play is easy to understand; they attack, attack, attack. Blow up O-linemen, get an OLB or DE hybrid guy or even a safety rushing in after the QB, etc.

However, I don't really know much about how the CB's and Safeties will play. Can some of you guys elaborate on that point? My guess is, again, its aggressive and meant to scare an offense into making mistakes and creating turnovers, and that yes, it also leaves the defense open to get blown up by a big play, but can some of you give me more info?

Also, I'm not sure what the hell we were watching last year on D, but maybe try comparing the two? Both are, ostensibly, 3-4 fronts, but what made our D so damn weak last year?

I'm not a big X's and O's guy but my understanding was that Diaco's system was a "bend but don't break" type of system... meaning that there is very little blitzing, and a lot of "keep everything in front of you" by the secondary. The theory is that the offense will get impatient and will make a mistake and get into third and long.

Bo's defense was pretty similar... but he switched it up at least and could confuse some QBs and other coaches. The bend but don't break was much better in the pass happy Big12 where opposing coaches would get super impatient and not take the four or five yard run when its available. It's part of the reason why Bo struggled against Minnesota... because Jerry Kill would just take the 5 yard gain every time on first down.

The problem is that you need really good tackling and guys at D-line and in the secondary that will make an offense pay if they make a mistake. With Diaco, we had TERRIBLE tackling so the "bend but don't break" turned into "bend over backwards." The short 3-4 yard "impatient" plays that the Diaco defense doesn't worry about giving up turned into 15-20 yard chunk plays. We also didn't have guys on the d-line that can generate a pass rush without blitzing. Opposing coaches also didn't get impatient against it.... it was a bad sign when Arkansas State ran the same play 60 times and we never could stop it and we didn't adjust.

Chinander's defense is more aggressive... more blitzing... more risk taking in terms of leaving the secondary in difficult situations. The theory is that you will give up more yards and points... but you will have more game breaking plays like sacks and turnovers. So in the bowl game against Auburn... Auburn had plenty of yards and points but there were also several big turnovers and sacks that sealed the game for UCF.

Someone with more Xs and Os knowledge might fill in the gaps for what i've missed.

 

[Cornicator]

I'm not a big X's and O's guy but my understanding was that Diaco's system was a "bend but don't break" type of system... meaning that there is very little blitzing, and a lot of "keep everything in front of you" by the secondary. The theory is that the offense will get impatient and will make a mistake and get into third and long.

Bo's defense was pretty similar... but he switched it up at least and could confuse some QBs and other coaches. The bend but don't break was much better in the pass happy Big12 where opposing coaches would get super impatient and not take the four or five yard run when its available. It's part of the reason why Bo struggled against Minnesota... because Jerry Kill would just take the 5 yard gain every time on first down.

The problem is that you need really good tackling and guys at D-line and in the secondary that will make an offense pay if they make a mistake. With Diaco, we had TERRIBLE tackling so the "bend but don't break" turned into "bend over backwards." The short 3-4 yard "impatient" plays that the Diaco defense doesn't worry about giving up turned into 15-20 yard chunk plays. We also didn't have guys on the d-line that can generate a pass rush without blitzing. Opposing coaches also didn't get impatient against it.... it was a bad sign when Arkansas State ran the same play 60 times and we never could stop it and we didn't adjust.

Chinander's defense is more aggressive... more blitzing... more risk taking in terms of leaving the secondary in difficult situations. The theory is that you will give up more yards and points... but you will have more game breaking plays like sacks and turnovers. So in the bowl game against Auburn... Auburn had plenty of yards and points but there were also several big turnovers and sacks that sealed the game for UCF.

Someone with more Xs and Os knowledge might fill in the gaps for what i've missed.

Nice job.

 

[SnohomishRed]

I'm not a big X's and O's guy but my understanding was that Diaco's system was a "bend but don't break" type of system... meaning that there is very little blitzing, and a lot of "keep everything in front of you" by the secondary. The theory is that the offense will get impatient and will make a mistake and get into third and long.

Bo's defense was pretty similar... but he switched it up at least and could confuse some QBs and other coaches. The bend but don't break was much better in the pass happy Big12 where opposing coaches would get super impatient and not take the four or five yard run when its available. It's part of the reason why Bo struggled against Minnesota... because Jerry Kill would just take the 5 yard gain every time on first down.

The problem is that you need really good tackling and guys at D-line and in the secondary that will make an offense pay if they make a mistake. With Diaco, we had TERRIBLE tackling so the "bend but don't break" turned into "bend over backwards." The short 3-4 yard "impatient" plays that the Diaco defense doesn't worry about giving up turned into 15-20 yard chunk plays. We also didn't have guys on the d-line that can generate a pass rush without blitzing. Opposing coaches also didn't get impatient against it.... it was a bad sign when Arkansas State ran the same play 60 times and we never could stop it and we didn't adjust.

Chinander's defense is more aggressive... more blitzing... more risk taking in terms of leaving the secondary in difficult situations. The theory is that you will give up more yards and points... but you will have more game breaking plays like sacks and turnovers. So in the bowl game against Auburn... Auburn had plenty of yards and points but there were also several big turnovers and sacks that sealed the game for UCF.

Someone with more Xs and Os knowledge might fill in the gaps for what i've missed.

Well said and I think it has been a long time coming for us to again play aggressive defense. First recruits hate to play soft they want to play with their hair on fire and come up with the big play, so this move will get us better athletes. Second the whole mentality of bend but do not break is stupid, coaches in the Big10 are too good and if you allow them to control the tempo they will. Finally our version of bend and dont break under Bo and Riley was bend and give up 500 rushing yards or get burnt consistently with big pass plays. We cannot do worse imo at least by getting after it we may get some turnovers

 

[RedMyMind]

Bend over backwards and get broken ankles

 

[bshirt73]

Well said and I think it has been a long time coming for us to again play aggressive defense. First recruits hate to play soft they want to play with their hair on fire and come up with the big play, so this move will get us better athletes. Second the whole mentality of bend but do not break is stupid, coaches in the Big10 are too good and if you allow them to control the tempo they will. Finally our version of bend and dont break under Bo and Riley was bend and give up 500 rushing yards or get burnt consistently with big pass plays. We cannot do worse imo at least by getting after it we may get some turnovers

Very, very good point.

"First recruits hate to play soft they want to play with their hair on fire and come up with the big play, so this move will get us better athletes."

I think there's a LOT of truth to that.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Very, very good point.

"First recruits hate to play soft they want to play with their hair on fire and come up with the big play, so this move will get us better athletes."

I think there's a LOT of truth to that.

Tons of truth to that. Also a lot of truth to if you don’t have the athletes to play your style your defense will look average at best. Does Nebraska have the athletes to play aggressive and attacking defense? I think in some spots they do.

 

[huskerhooligansdotcom]

Tons of truth to that. Also a lot of truth to if you don’t have the athletes to play your style your defense will look average at best. Does Nebraska have the athletes to play aggressive and attacking defense? I think in some spots they do.

That is true, but I think "average at best" would be an extreme upgrade from "unmitigated dumpster fire"

I kid, but I think I would rather have an average athlete playing aggressive and with confidence within a scheme he knows and trusts over a consensus four star athlete dilly dallying in a read and react defense that he doesn't fully understand.

 

[z28craz]

I have always hated the “bend but don’t break” defensive philosophy. Our ‘90’s defenses were not “bend but don’t break.” They were downhill attacking defenses that were there to make big plays. If giving up a few big plays a game also yields more turnovers, more sacks, more tackles for loss, etc, I think it’s a good give and take.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

That is true, but I think "average at best" would be an extreme upgrade from "unmitigated dumpster fire"

I kid, but I think I would rather have an average athlete playing aggressive and with confidence within a scheme he knows and trusts over a consensus four star athlete dilly dallying in a read and react defense that he doesn't fully understand.

Not really my point. I wasn’t trying to compare what we will have this year to what we had last year. I was referring more to if a defense needs an edge pass rusher or lockdown corners that can play man to man, or a space eater in the middle. Whatever it is, if you don’t have it, your defense won’t be as successful.

While I agree that having a guy play aggressively and with confidence can make up for some things. Counting on average athletes to beat superior athletes is a game you don’t want to play all the time. Hence my comment of average at best.

 

[Tuco Ramirez]

I'll go against the grain a little bit here.

What's the down side? We are going from three under limit to two under limit on scholies for 2018. If this kids sees even a couple meaningful snaps, the team gets a value with no real cost. (And it seems likely he will challenge to start.) Unless your kid is the walk-on third in line for a scholie, I don't see any reason to complain.

 

[huskerhooligansdotcom]

Not really my point. I wasn’t trying to compare what we will have this year to what we had last year. I was referring more to if a defense needs an edge pass rusher or lockdown corners that can play man to man, or a space eater in the middle. Whatever it is, if you don’t have it, your defense won’t be as successful.

While I agree that having a guy play aggressively and with confidence can make up for some things. Counting on average athletes to beat superior athletes is a game you don’t want to play all the time. Hence my comment of average at best.

Yes. Your guys can have plenty of heart and desire and they can know the scheme inside and out, but if you are trying to get pressure on third down with a Jack Gangwish rather than a Randy Gregory... you are going to have a bad time.