Perhaps no other position is receiving as much attention in recruiting this year from WVU's coaches as the wide receiver spot. WVU receivers coach Lonnie Galloway is charged with the task of evolving the team’s receivers, once used mostly as blockers and decoys, into threats capable of stretching the field in WVU's increasingly pass-friendly attack.
One class of 2010 wide receiver recruit with whom the 'Eers are involved with is DeMarco McNeal, a 6-foot-1, 158-pound receiver for Benjamin E. Banneker High School, in College Park, Ga., He feels he could provide a major boost to WVU’s passing offense, which currently ranks No. 71, in the NCAA.
“I can tell they are struggling at receiver right now,” McNeal said. “They need some receivers to help out their quarterback.”
Apparently, WVU feels the same way about McNeal, to some extent. “I’m very interested and they’re definitely still recruiting me,” he said.
McNeal said he most recently spoke with Galloway about three weeks ago, but said the two maintain contact about once a month. “He says I’m a great ball player. I got great ball skills,” said McNeal. “They need guys up there than can make guys miss after the catch and stuff like that.”
Earlier this fall, McNeal said he watched WVU play at Auburn and took note of a few specifics about the Mountaineers’ passing game. “Their receivers were blocking. When their quarterback needed key plays from their receivers, they weren’t giving it to him.”
ESPN Scouts Inc rated McNeal the No. 137 overall athlete for the 2010 class and evaluated him with a 74 scouts grade. Indiana and South Carolina have offered scholarships.
Academics could be keepin other schools from offering McNeal. He still needs to take the ACT and earn a passing score to register with the NCAA clearinghouse, which would then allow him to set up and take official visits, he said.
“When I take the ACT in December, I’m going to be able to go on official visits,” said McNeal.
Unofficial visits allow recruits to tour prospective schools, but require the individual, not the football program, to pay for all visiting-related expenses. McNeal has taken advantage of that opportunity and said he’s visited many schools unofficially, throughout the fall.
“I’ve been to South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia -- pretty much everywhere in the southeast,” he said.
And once he’s registered with the NCAA clearinghouse, McNeal plans on taking official visits to the three schools who did offer him. “The first visit I should be taking is West Virginia,” he said, adding that he has no leader currently.
McNeal holds the school record for career receptions at Benjamin E. Banneker. “I broke that last week,” he said, adding that’s he accumulated 50 receptions for 475 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Fitting in with WVU’s offense is something McNeal feels he is suited for and something that attracted him to the Mountaineers. “They run that spread option kind of game. They air it out just enough,” he said. “They give their receivers a chance to show they can block. They run that veer offense. It’s real good. I like it.”
The main priority for McNeal is finding somewhere that he can play early-on and somewhere that will allow him to “get on the field to show what I can do.”
For him, WVU fits the description and is somewhere he says he could see himself playing in college. “I really can,” McNeal said, adding that he only plans on making a commitment by National Signing Day, which will be Feb. 3, 2010.
ESPN DeMarco McNeal Highlights:
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