There is no doubt Evan Neal would fill the role of “The Town Mouse’’ if the Giants were recreating Aesop’s Fables No. 352 — although the notion of the massive Neal and any sort of mouse linked together in any way, shape or form takes some creative casting.
Neal, from Okeechobee, Fla., is coming to the big city after the Giants made him the No. 7-overall pick Thursday night in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“A little bit of a culture shock, man, but I’m excited,’’ Neal said. “I’m a country boy, but at the end of the day, I know how to fit in well with the city, so I’m just excited.’’
This is not the first time Neal, 21, left somewhere smaller to find fame and fortune somewhere bigger. As a teenager, he departed his hometown and high school, transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., described as a sports training destination for athletes seeking pristine facilities and expert coaching, weight training, nutrition and, well, you name it.
Evan Neal reacts after the Giants drafted him with the No. 7 pick. APThe trip was 115 miles west, and it could be described as a journey for a 6-foot-7, 360-pound, 14-year-old sophomore man-child who, at the time, called it “a pretty hard decision, leaving home and having to live on your own.’’
The teenager also said this: “The deciding factor is that this is an opportunity I can’t overlook. They’ve put numerous guys in top Division I colleges. They hold their kids to the highest standard.”
That was Neal’s plan. In the ninth grade, he wrote a letter in class that stated his goals: Be the top offensive tackle in the country as a high school player, go to a Division I program and play in the NFL.
It all worked out for Neal, who extracted what he needed out of IMG, gained a scholarship to Alabama, spent three years manning the offensive line for the Crimson Tide and on Thursday night was the No. 7 pick, perhaps the final piece of the puzzle to lift an annually shabby Giants offensive line into the big leagues.
“When you’re the 14-year-old kid and you’re the big offensive lineman at your school, you don’t really understand what an NFL body looks like, with the lean mass and the body distribution,’’ Billy Miller, Neal’s football coach at IMG, said Friday. “The transformation to his body, I give credit to his mindset and his buy-in. He was always the first guy in the weight room, last guy to leave, at a young age.
“He understands what’s at stake. He’s always had that mindset that this was a business decision for him.’’
Business is booming for Neal, who will receive a four-year rookie contract worth $24.6 million. Had the Giants taken him at No. 5, rather than selecting edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, Neal would have received the four-year deal worth $31.3 million that Thibodeaux will eventually sign.
Neal certainly sounded all-business on draft night, taking his impending move to the New York-New Jersey area in stride.
“Pretty much a laid-back guy,’’ he said. “I’m kind of more of an introverted extrovert by nature, more reserved, quiet, but just talk to me. I’m a people person. I’m definitely a cool guy.’’
Evan Neal while at Alabama. Tom Sooter/Cal Sport Media/SipaCool, introverted but also able to let loose. Miller asked Neal to send a short hype video he could share with the players before IMG’s first football game this past season.
“Let me tell you, it was epic,’’ Miller said. “There was about 30 seconds, it started real calm and then all of a sudden 15 seconds into it, boom, he turned it on, the boys went nuts. He’s really, really good.’’
The Giants do not need any hype videos from Neal. They will work him in as the starting right tackle and hope the upward progress he has shown will continue at the highest level.
“He lives and breathes football,’’ Miller said. “He’s from the country, he’s got a small circle, he’s a guy that understands what’s at stake. He’s gonna limit distractions, he’s going to focus on what he needs to focus, he’s gonna be the pro’s pro, He’s a ball guy. He’s gonna be exactly what they want up there.’’
