Darion Neal Darion Neal 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Frederick Douglass | 2024 State KY is a linebacker that jumped onto our radar quickly this past season. He played a key role in the Broncos winning their first state championship last season, finishing with 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Darion lines up at middle linebacker and does a great job of reading his keys against the run. He reacts quickly and flows downhill to the football in a hurry. Neal meets the ball carrier in the gap and explodes through contact to finish the tackle with a ton of physicality. He has also shown the ability to be used on blitzes in passing situations. Neal does a great job of timing the snap count to burst through his gap before the opposing offensive linemen can react. Darion currently holds  an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to play at the Division I level.

Darion Neal Darion Neal 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Frederick Douglass | 2024 State KY is a linebacker that I had on my radar coming into this past season that completely exceeded my expectations. He played a key role in the Broncos’ 5A State Championship run, finishing with 69 tackles, ten tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Neal does a great job of reading his keys from the middle linebacker spot. Once he sees where the ball is going, Neal comes downhill in a hurry, meets the running back in the running lane and explodes through contact to finish the tackle. When the play is away from him, Neal does a great job of flowing to the ball to put himself in a position to make a tackle in the open field. He is also very impressive when blitzing, showing that he can jump the snap with perfect timing, shooting through his gap before the offensive line can react. Neal currently holds one offer from Eastern Kentucky but I expect more to come going into his senior year as he is a true Division I caliber linebacker.

Darion Neal Darion Neal 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Frederick Douglass | 2024 State KY is another Broncos’ defender that stood out to me both during the regular season and in the playoffs. The junior linebacker played a key role in their championship run, finishing the playoffs with 30 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Neal does a great job of reading his keys from the inside linebacker spot and coming downhill in a hurry once he sees where the ball is going. He has shown the ability to flow to the ball and make plays all over the field. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Neal explodes through contact and makes his presence felt on every tackle. He has also shown the ability to time his blitzes perfectly to shoot through his gap before opposing offensive linemen can react. Neal currently holds one offer from Eastern Kentucky but I expect more to come his way going into his senior year as he has received a nice amount of college interest and has the talent to succeed at the next level.

Junior linebacker Darion Neal Darion Neal 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Frederick Douglass | 2024 State KY is a player that I have been intrigued by this season as he comes from a line of talented players in his family that have come through the Frederick Douglass program. Darion continued to make a name for himself this past Friday as he made plays all over the field from the inside linebacker spot. He did a great job of reading his keys and filling his gap in a hurry. Once he got the ball carrier, he showed the ability to explode through contact to secure the tackle. Neal showed a very high motor, running all over the field to make plays. Against the pass, Neal showed the ability to time his blitzes quickly to burst into the backfield to put pressure on the quarterback before the opposing offensive linemen had a chance to react. Neal finished the game tied with Kenney with eight tackles along with 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and a huge forced fumble and recovery. Darion holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect more offers to come his way going into his final season as he has the talent to be a very productive linebacker at the next level.

My final linebacker on this list is Darion Neal Darion Neal 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Frederick Douglass | 2024 State KY . Neal plays at a true inside linebacker spot for the Broncos. He does an excellent job of filling the lane against the run as soon as it opens. When he gets to the ball, he explodes through contact and makes sure that there is no chance the ball carrier picks up extra yards. Neal is also very reliable against the pass, showing the ability to open up and drop into coverage, and shows great route recognition skills. While he doesn’t currently hold any offers, I expect them to come soon as he has received some college interest and has the ability to play at the next level.