Omaha Central features multiple 2015 prospects

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OMAHA, Neb. - Omaha (Neb.) Central has never been short on talent, and it appears the Eagles have the pieces in places to make a serious run in 2014.

Head coach Jay Ball's squad appears to have at least two legitimate Division I prospects in their class of 2015, led by running back Tre' Sanders and defensive end Daishon Neal.

The 6-foot-8, 240 pound Neal is the son of former Eagle and Purdue wide receiver Abe Hoskins, while the 5-foot-8, 165 pound Sanders is a cousin of former Husker and current Washington Redskin tight end Niles Paul.

Ball said Neal's impressive frame, along with his development in the weight room has helped him garner several early looks already. As a junior Neal finished with eight sacks in 10 games, to go along with nine tackles for loss.

"He has lot of upside I believe," Ball said of Neal. "He really improved a lot from his sophomore to junior year. He has a really high motor and he's a really hard working young man and a good student. We'll see what happens. I think he's going to have a really good senior season.

"We've had a few schools here looking at some other guys and I made sure they saw Daishon. As one college coach told me, he said you are going to get a lot of people coming through the building because of this young man."

This summer Neal said he plans to attend camps at Notre Dame, Houston, Nebraska, Iowa and Iowa State, along with the RCS Camp in Chicago this May.

As a junior Neal was an all-district selection, but he's hoping for more in 2014.

"I want to improve on staying low and getting to the ball much quicker," Neal said. "I want to do whatever it takes to get my team to a championship."

When you look at Sanders on paper, his speed immediately catches your eye. As a freshman he placed sixth in the 100 meter dash at the state track meet. He clocked an electronic time of 10.77 seconds in the prelims in the 2012 state meet. His personal best mark in the 100 is 10.6 seconds, and he's been timed at 50.2 seconds in the 400.

As a junior Sanders rushed for 1,300 yards in 10 games, to go along with 40 tackles on defense.

"(Sanders) is a state qualifier in the 100 meter dash," Ball said. "He's a legit 4.5 kid, maybe even faster than that. He can scoot and he's strong and he's tough.

"(His speed) is huge. If he gets a crease he's gone. He popped a few big ones for us this year and he's really been working hard in the weight room in the off-season, so we are looking forward to see what he can do his senior season."

As of right now Neal said he plans to attend both Iowa and Nebraska's camps this summer, along with the RCS Camp in Chicago.

"My plan is to be the next guy at I-Back High," Sanders said. "A lot of great backs have come out of here like Gale Sayers and my plan is to be the next one."

Ball also has a pair of talented linemen he'll look to for leadership in 2014. 2015 defensive tackle prospect Xavier Graham is arguably one of the stronger players in the state with a 360 pound bench max and a 650 pound squat max. As a junior, he was a first-team All-Metro and a second-team All-State selection anchoring down the interior of Ball's defensive line.

Graham, along with 2016 offensive lineman prospect Connor Pavlik are poised for big seasons. The 6-foot-3, 280 pound Pavlik is arguably one of the top 2016 prospects in the state of Nebraska.

"He started every game for us a sophomore," Ball said of Pavlik. "Which is really rare for the offensive line. He continued to get better and better - he's a grinder. He's that last kid out of the weight room and the first one in. He's a 4.0 student as well, so he's got a lot of good things going for him."

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