Neal bigger, stronger, more confident than ever after breakout spring

There was a point in DaiShon Neal’s career at Nebraska that he started to think maybe he just wasn’t good enough.

A player who had never doubted his own ability as a standout defensive end at Omaha Central High School, Neal came to Lincoln with lofty expectations for himself as a Husker.

But the former three-star recruit quickly realized he had a lot of work to do, both mentally and physically, to become the type of player he wanted to be at the collegiate level.

The first initial hurdle was adding some significant bulk to the 6-foot-7, 245-pound frame he came in with as a true freshman in 2015. After a redshirt year and a full active season in 2016, Neal was finally starting to settle in as an NU defensive end.

Then, in the January leading into his sophomore season, Nebraska completely changed its defensive philosophy and switched to a 3-4 base scheme. As a result, Neal essentially had to start his learning process over from scratch and adjust to playing primarily as a three-technique tackle.

“I always felt like, me personally, I didn’t know if I was good enough sometimes to go out there and really do what I’ve been trained to do my whole life,” Neal said.

Neal saw action in all 12 games, primarily on special teams, and recorded just three total tackles in 2017.

With the lack of playing time and production already weighing on him, Neal had to go through another reset when former head coach Mike Riley and his staff were let go immediately following the 2017 season.

Neal could have let the frustration of seemingly being stuck in neutral with his development get the best of him, but he opted instead to give new head coach Scott Frost, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, defensive line coach Mike Dawson, and strength coach Zach Duval the benefit of the doubt.

He would be rewarded for that faith almost instantly.

Neal said he showed up for the start of NU’s winter conditioning program weighing in at about 275 pounds. By the time he took the field for Saturday’s Spring Game, he was up to a solid 292 pounds.

That wasn’t just bulk, either. Neal said he’s added at least nine pounds of muscle and feels bigger, stronger, and faster than ever in his life.

Prior to this offseason he said he’d never squatted more than 500 pounds. Now he’s doing a three-rep maximum squat of 645 pounds.

“I think he got a lot better in the winter, getting stronger and getting leaner and he’s got the body type we’re looking for at that position,” Frost said. “We just need him to be productive. A lot of guys on our team weren’t in good enough shape, still aren’t in good enough shape for the pace we want to play at. But DaiShon certainly has the talents and the gifts to be a good player for us and make plays.”

Those gains in the weight room helped Neal clear the far bigger hurdle standing in his way of taking that next step as a player - his own self-confidence.

Frost’s coaching mantra is having “a desire to succeed and no fear of failure,” which was something Neal said he needed to take to heart in order to trust his ability and not overthink things so much on the field.

“This coaching staff, they actually put trust in me,” Neal said. “Coach Chin’s always telling me, ‘You’re the biggest dude on the team. You’ve got to go out there and perform. Act like you know something and go out there and do what you can do.’ So I trust myself more…

“I’m more aggressive. I trust myself more to take chances, taking the risk to go out there and make a play. I know that if I make a mistake, I’ve got Coach Dawson, Coach Chin, Coach Frost and all them to correct me on everything I need to do.”

Given that he was already entering his junior season, Neal knew the time was now to make his push for a significant role on Nebraska’s defense. He responded by putting together by far the best spring of his career.

Neal capped it all off with a breakout performance in Saturday’s Red-White game, where he posted four tackles, two sacks, and recovered a fumble for the White squad.

Knowing full well that the past four months were only the starting point, Neal said he feels like nothing - most importantly himself - is standing in his way of becoming a fixture on the Huskers’ defense the next two years.

“It was the biggest spring of my college career,” Neal said. “I finally got to come out of my shadow and get to show what I can really do. I’ve got coaches that believe in me, I’ve turned my body around, so I’m in much better shape.

“I like where I’m headed with myself. I’m working hard every day and just trying to put on the best performance I can every day possible.”