Path from wrestling to football leads Neal to Super Bowl

JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer

In the back of Stephen Neal’s mind, this is a temp job.

The two-time NCAA wrestling champion will start at right guard for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday, just four years after taking up football as one of the greenest rookies imaginable.

A victory would give him three NFL championship rings in the career he fell back on when his attempt at an Olympic medal was derailed.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the Olympics. Maybe later in my career, I’ll take another shot, “said Neal, who missed making the 2000 Games by one spot when he finished second at the U.S. wrestling trials.

“In wrestling, you represent your country, “he said. “You’re wearing the flag on your singlet. Nothing could replace that. Wrestling’s the ultimate one-on-one battle. You’re out there by yourself. In football, there’s a bunch of those battles.”

Neal, 28, played football in high school, but wasn’t recruited by college teams and he wrestled at California-Bakersfield instead. He finished third at nationals in 1996 and won his first NCAA title in 1998. In ’99, he won a second NCAA title to go with a world championship and the international wrestler of the year award.

The United States has only produced two super-heavyweight world champions: Neal and Bruce Baumgartner.

“He’s achieved a very rare thing, “said Gary Abbott, a spokesman for USA Wrestling. “He’s very successful in the history of American wrestling by winning a world title.”

But Neal finished second in the 286-pound weight class at the Olympic trials, missing the only spot on the U.S. team going to Sydney. After losing again — to the same wrestler, Kerry McCoy — for a chance to go to the 2001 world championships, Neal decided to try football.

“I was a regular guy, watching TV every Sunday, “Neal said. “That’s all I knew about football.”

Neal got in touch with an agent who arranged a tryout with the Patriots. He showed up for his tryout with wrestling shoes and had to borrow spikes and some other equipment from linebacker Mike Vrabel.

“When I tell you he didn’t know where the field was, he didn’t know where the field was, “New England coach Bill Belichick said. “He didn’t know how to put his pads on; he didn’t know where to line up; he didn’t even know where to go in the huddle.

“When I say starting from scratch, we’re starting from below scratch. But Steve works hard. Nobody put in more time or effort into it. He took it very seriously as a job and an opportunity. He got a lot better. That being said, he still couldn’t play football. But he was still a good athlete who was making some progress.”

It’s not unusual for athletes to cross over into other sports, and there is an obvious overlap in skills between wrestling and the offensive line; Neal’s “freight-train double leg takedown “is said to be similar to a football tackle. But few other wrestlers have made the switch without so little football experience — most notably former Steelers lineman Carlton Haselrig, who wrestled in college and won three NCAA titles before making the Pro Bowl with Pittsburgh.

Eagles guard Steve Sciullo said it’s clear why some wrestling skills would come in handy as a lineman: balance, footwork, leverage and strong hands.

“Those are skills every athlete has, “Philadelphia defensive end Jamaal Green said. “They just use it in different ways.”

Neal’s father, Jack, played basketball at Maryland for Lefty Driesell and encouraged his kids to play everything they could — football, racquetball, home run derby. One of Neal’s brothers swam and played water polo in college; the other played football and wrestled.

“Every Saturday, we were out there playing something different, “Neal said.

The Patriots tried Neal on defense — “that was stupid, “Belichick said — and released him at the end of training camp in 2001. Neal caught on with the Eagles’ practice squad and then went back to the Patriots late in the season; although he was never activated, he earned his first Super Bowl ring.

Neal made the field in 2002 but got hurt and missed the entire 2003 season, when he earned his second championship ring. But he made enough progress in his technique and his knowledge of the terminology and schemes to compete for playing time in training camp. After Week 2, he became the full-time starter.

“He was light years ahead of where he was in ’01, “Belichick said. “He just doesn’t have the kind of playing experience of … guys who have been playing football now for the past dozen years. He is just not in that category yet. He has made tremendous improvement.

“It is a wonderful story about a guy that, with hard work, dedication, overcoming the setbacks of the injuries and the lack of playing experience, has turned into, really, a good football player and has developed a second career for himself.”

Even if it’s just a fallback.

“Right now, Stephen’s at the prime wrestling age, “Abbott said. “But we do get wrestlers in their 30’s. So the time exists for him to do that if that was important to him. Whether he’s able to get back to his level of excellence, that remains to be seen.”