MOBILE — The coaches at Jacksonville State know what they're doing. The fact that Reese's Senior Bowl cornerback Siran Neal never played in a conference loss in four seasons with the Gamecocks illustrates that.
So does his position. Neal went to Jacksonville State after earning All-State recognition as a wide receiver at Abbeville and Eufaula.
"Coming out of high school I was more a receiver than a DB," Neal said, "and then when I got to college, they moved me to defense because I was a bigger, faster guy and I could play the ball pretty well.
"I was OK with it. I really wanted to play receiver, but they were telling me, 'We can really get you to the NFL if you move' and 'If you go to the defensive side, it would help us win.' So I humbled myself, went to that side, helped the defense out and, now look, I'm here today."
Neal became Jacksonville State's fourth Senior Bowler and first since running back Sean Richardson in 1994. The Gamecocks' other two Senior Bowl players were quarterback Dieter Brock in 1974 and defensive lineman Jesse Baker in 1979.
"The last time a person came from Jacksonville was '94, I think," Neal said, "so when I got the invitation, that was big for the coaching staff, that was big for my teammates, the fans and my family. They loved that, and I loved the opportunity to get to come out here and compete with some of the best players in the country."
The American Football Coaches Association selected Neal for its 2017 NCAA FCS All-American team. But that credential won't help him cover Biletnikoff Award winner James Washington of Oklahoma State or D.J. Chark of LSU or J'Mon Moore of Missouri during the South team's practices for Saturday's all-star game. And if he slips up, there's sure to be some head-nodder chalking it up to his "small-school" background.
Neal said he planned to "hang in with the bigger dogs" this week.
"The thing I want to prove is no matter where you come from, whatever the school you come from — big school small school — if you're a baller, you're a baller," Neal said.
Neal has the confidence born of knowing he's prepared for years for his pro audition leaning on a lesson learned during his Alabama upbringing.
"I just knew I had to do the extra to get to where I am today," Neal said, "like extra work on the field, extra weightlifting, a lot of extra film study to get here today."
Neal was on the practice field Wednesday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, working with the coaching staff of the Houston Texans.
"It's going to be a great experience for me," Neal said before Tuesday's first practice. "It's definitely love out here, and I love it."
The Reese's Senior Bowl will be played at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Mobile. NFL Network will televise the game.