Ex-Caver went from wrestling to starting guard for Patriots
By Jim Trotter
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
FOXBORO, Mass. “Bill Belichick’s news conferences can be as entertaining as a dripping faucet. It’s not unusual for his answers to be shorter than the questions. He rarely smiles or jokes, and often displays a personality as colorful as the gray sweatshirts he prefers.
That made the New England coach’s reaction to a question about Patriots right guard Stephen Neal all the more notable. Belichick seemed almost to trip over himself with excitement. He smiled and chuckled and provided an answer that, for him, seemed longer than a State of the Union address.
“Certainly one of the most unusual ones I’ve ever been around, “he said of Neal’s journey to becoming an NFL starter. “You’re talking about a kid who never played football, worked out, showed he was a good athlete, could run, had good balance, explosion and athletic ability.
“When I tell you he didn’t know where the field was, he didn’t know where the field was. He didn’t know how to put his pads on. He didn’t know where to line up. He didn’t know where to go in the huddle. When I say starting from scratch, we’re starting from below scratch.”
Which makes Neal’s climb all the more remarkable. Teammates shake their heads in admiration and awe. They say it’s tough for them competing at this level, and they had four years of college to get ready for the pros. Neal? His last football action before joining the Patriots was as a senior at San Diego High. After graduating, he attended Cal State Bakersfield, where he was a dominant wrestler.
He won his final 88 matches and had a career mark of 156-10, claiming two NCAA heavyweight titles along the way. As a senior he won the Dan Hodge Award, college wrestling’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He won gold at the Pan Am Games and the World Championships in 1999.
“It blows my mind every time I think about what he’s done, “backup offensive tackle Tom Ashworth said. “Everybody in this room knows that’s just an incredible thing.”
“He’s a freak of nature, as far as athletics, “said right tackle Brandon Gorin, who lines up outside Neal. “I can’t even imagine going from not playing a sport in college and then to the professional level. But he’s done it. I have all the respect in the world for that guy for doing that. Going from being the best in one sport to where you don’t know anything about another sport, it’s a great accomplishment.”
The only one who doesn’t seem surprised by Neal’s success is Neal. The 28-year-old said he had wanted to play pro football from the time he was a kid, but set that dream aside to wrestle collegiately. When he lost in the final of the 2000 Olympic Trials, he decided to rekindle his love with football.
The odds were against him, of course. Over time, he had forgotten how heavy football pads are, and exactly how they’re worn. He kept looking for hip pads, only to learn they’re not standard equipment in the NFL.
He knew nothing about the difference in conditioning between the sports or the importance of hand placement and first steps. While other players slept or rested during his first training camp in 2001, Neal lay awake in bed thinking about different play calls and responsibilities.
It could have been overwhelming, but he had broad enough shoulders to carry the load. Or so he thought.
Released by the Patriots, he spent most of the 2001 season on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad before re-signing with New England. But in the second game in 2002 “and the first start of his career “he injured a shoulder and was out for the season.
He was on schedule to return in 2003, but reinjured the shoulder during offseason workouts. More surgery followed, as did another year on injured reserve. Coming into this season he had missed 29 consecutive games, including the playoffs.
He never doubted he could play at this level, but he did wonder whether he could remain healthy enough.
“I kind of doubted my body, “Neal said. “I got a little banged up. I only played in one game; didn’t even make it to halftime. This year, getting back out on the field, making it through my first game, that was pretty cool. Then making it through two games, three games and stuff like that “I kind of had a little bit of doubt if my body could make it. But I just had really bad technique in the beginning.”
Neal said he would take on defenders with his arms extended, something he did in wrestling, instead of keeping them in close for power and stability. As a result the shoulder was often pulled and twisted.
Neal now wears a brace that not only helps keep his shoulder in place, but reminds him about the importance of good technique. Some people wonder whether he’s prepared to handle the pressure of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers and their top-ranked defense in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, but Neal has faced greater pressures, such as wrestling in Iran and Colombia during times of great anti-U.S. sentiment.
He could have taken the easy road coming out of college and cashed in on the lucrative professional “wrestling “circuit, following in the footsteps of pro wrestling star Brock Lesnar, whom Neal defeated 3-2 in college. But he declined.
“I like to compete, “Neal said. “What those guys do is very, very hard. They’re on the road every day, and they’re putting on a show for the fans. That’s just not me. I like to compete.”
In a real sport?
“I’m not going to say that, “Neal said. “What those guys do, they have to have a lot of athletic ability.”
Teammates marvel at Neal’s athletic ability. They contend his stamina is off the charts and add that he has a feel for leverage and balance because of his wrestling background. Bottom line, though, is that when he lines up he is treated the same as guys who have been playing football all their lives.
“There are no excuses, “he said. “You’ve got to get the job done or you don’t get it done. That’s pretty powerful, you know? I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, I really didn’t know. I’ve never seen that before.’ They don’t care. You’re prepared very well here, and you go out there on the field and you have to get the job done.”
Even if it’s a job you’ve never done before.
“He’s still not our No. 1 scholar football player, “Belichick said. “But he’s come so far, incredibly far, to where he’s very functional, he makes very few mistakes. He just doesn’t have the type of experience of a Joe Andruzzi or a (Dan) Koppen or a Matt Light, guys who have been playing football now for the last dozen years. He’s just not in that category yet.
“But he has made tremendous improvement and is a wonderful story about a guy who “with hard work, dedication, overcoming the setback of the injuries and lack of playing experience “has turned into really a good football player and has developed a second career for himself.”
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