Patriots' Neal grappled with career change

By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

February 1, 2005



JACKSONVILLE — Sports agent Neil Cornrich was at his Cleveland-area office in 2001 when he received the telephone solicitation. "Hi, Neil, my name is Steve Neal, and I'd like to play pro football," said the quiet-spoken caller, two years out of college.

Many barstool Pro Bowlers have similar dreams. The agent's first reaction was skepticism.

"I thought, 'Well, I'd like to play, too,' " Cornrich says. "But I have no shot, and I'm probably a better athlete than you.' "

Sunday in Super Bowl XXXIX, Neal will start at right guard for the New England Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It's the unusual tale of an athlete who never played college football but used his talents on the wrestling mat to earn two NCAA titles for Cal State-Bakersfield and win a 1999 world freestyle wrestling championship in Turkey — far from NFL glory.

"I always thought I was going to be able to do it. Whether or not you get the opportunity, that's another thing," says Neal, 28, who was a linebacker/offensive lineman at San Diego High School.

Neal had one precedent going for him. Carlton Haselrig, who won three NCAA Division I wrestling titles at Pitt-Johnstown, did not play college football but became a Pro Bowl guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 before his career was ended amid substance abuse problems.

Through Cornrich — who got over his initial doubts — Neal found opportunity with the Patriots, a team known for finding ways to find talent. He has made the most of it despite shoulder injuries that set him back the past two seasons.

But to say he started from scratch is an understatement. Patriots coach Bill Belichick recalls Neal's first training camp as a free-agent defensive end in 2001.

"When I tell you he didn't know where the field was, he didn't know where the field was," Belichick says. "He didn't know how to put his pads on. He didn't know where to line up. ... We're starting from below scratch."

The 6-4 Neal has bulked up to about 300 pounds since his days as a 265-pound international wrestler of the year in 1999.

His bank account is heftier, too.

A world champion wrestler can earn about $40,000 to $50,000 in bonuses and training stipends from USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee, according to USA Wrestling. Win Olympic gold, which brings more bonuses, and it's about $50,000-$60,000.

Neal is making a base salary of $455,000 this year, not counting playoff bonuses. After next season, he becomes a restricted free agent.

"I've never really been about trying to get a big paycheck," he says. "I wrestled for pretty much nothing, and football was always something I've dreamed about doing."

Leveraging his talent

Wrestling develops skills that translate to football: leverage, balance, explosion and hand fighting.

Buck Rasmussen, a defensive lineman on the Patriots' practice squad and a former state high school wrestling champ in Nebraska, sees that in Neal.

"He uses leverage to his advantage a lot, body position and stuff like that. ... Wrestling really helps," Rasmussen says.

Top high school wrestlers in the upper weight classes, who excel at football, typically forgo college wrestling. For Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, a two-time Florida wrestling champ in high school, it was all football at the University of Miami.

Neal had no big-time football offers after high school.

After finishing fourth in California as a 189-pound senior, he opted to wrestle at Division I Cal State Bakersfield, where he was 83-0 over his final two seasons as a fast-growing heavyweight.

In 2000, coming off arthroscopic shoulder surgery, Neal lost in the finals of the Olympic trials to Kerry McCoy of Penn State. In 2001, Neal again lost to McCoy in the world team trials.

Thus the phone call to Cornrich.

"I asked him if he'd played college football, and he said no," Cornrich says. "Then I said, 'Well, what makes you think you'd be a suitable candidate to play in the National Football League?' And he said he was a fairly good wrestler."

Cornrich, a wrestling buff, realized the caller was actually Stephen Neal, the name Neal typically uses and the heavyweight Cornrich had seen win his first NCAA title, at Cleveland State.

Cornrich had watched the tournament with former NFL players John Frank and Kirk Lowdermilk, who were impressed by Neal's explosiveness.

"We're sitting there watching every one of his matches going, 'Gosh, this guy could be a great NFL player,' " Cornrich says.

After the call, Neal flew to Cleveland and joined Cornrich on a 5 a.m. drive to Ohio State, where then-Buckeyes strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy was working out players.

Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel was also there that day.

Neal "showed up with a pair of wrestling shoes and some shorts and stuff, and I said, 'Well, we have to get you outfitted to look like a football player,' " Vrabel says.

"I gave him some shoes and stuff, and from that first time he went and did a drill you could see he had the potential."

Cornrich, who describes himself as a "close friend" of Belichick and has represented him on some matters, got Neal a tryout with New England. After Belichick and player personnel boss Scott Pioli got a look, they signed him.

Patriots believed in him

The road to NFL success took many turns.

As a defensive end, Neal was cut by the Patriots in late August of his first camp. He spent most of that season on the practice squad of the Eagles, switching to offensive line and learning as he went.

The Patriots still had faith in him. On Dec. 12 of that season, New England signed him to its roster. Although he was listed among the game inactives for all three playoff games that season, he got a Super Bowl ring.

Improving quickly in 2002, Neal started against Green Bay on Oct. 23 and injured his shoulder.

He had surgery and a later follow-up procedure that sidelined him for the rest of 2002 and 2003 — picking up another Super Bowl ring even though he again spent the game in street clothes on the sideline.

"I was kept around here for a few years and really given the opportunity," he says. "I came here (last season) and I watched some film and I talked to the guys and tried to get better, improve."

This year, Neal was promoted to a starting role for the third game.

"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," Belichick says.

The wrestling world hasn't forgotten him. USA Wrestling has featured a story about Neal on its Web site. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla., hopes to get one of his NFL jerseys.

Mitch Hull, director of national teams for USA Wrestling, has talked to Neal about that jersey for the wrestling hall.

"I told him, 'Hey, if you have any contract problems, you can come back to wrestling. ... We've got $40,000 out there for you.' "

Unlikely as that might seem, Neal says he just might return to the mat after his NFL days are done.

"I'd love to," he says. "The weight class is 263 pounds, and I'd like to get my body back down to that weight.

"I don't know. I might be too old by then. I might be too beat up. But it's a dream."

He already has fulfilled a few.

From Wrestling to Football for Patriots' Neal

By PETE THAMEL
January 21, 2005


-Stephen Neal won a free-style wrestling world title in 1999. He began his N.F.L. bid in 2001 and is now the starting right guard for the Patriots.

FOXBORO, Mass., Jan. 20 - Stephen Neal is an offensive lineman for the New England Patriots, but he is more likely to be recognized on the streets of Iran than he is in Boston.

In wrestling circles outside the United States, the 6-foot 4-inch, 305-pound Neal is known for his exploits in that sport: being ranked as the world's No. 1 wrestler in 1999, winning two N.C.A.A. titles for Cal State-Bakersfield and competing everywhere from Bulgaria to Colombia.

For Neal, wrestling was not Vince McMahon's W.W.E. world of mayhem. It was one of long training hours and little local recognition. But a phone call in the spring of 2001 changed his life just when he was itching for something more.

At the recommendation of a former Olympic wrestler, Matt Ghaffari, Neal called Neil Cornrich, a sports agent based in Cleveland.

"My name is Steve Neal," he said, introducing himself to Cornrich, "and I want to play pro football."

That call began his improbable journey from the wrestling mats to the football field, a transformation that even the hardly effusive Bill Belichick, the Patriots' coach, described as "a wonderful story."

When he took his shot at the N.F.L., Neal had last played football at San Diego High School in the early 1990's. But he has established himself as a starter in his fourth N.F.L. season and will be planted at right guard when the Patriots meet the Steelers in the American Football Conference championship game Sunday in Pittsburgh.

That he has gone so far, so fast, is a testament to his hard work and to the ability of Patriots coaches to spot and develop the rawest of talents.

"It's a miracle," said Neal's mother, Illys. "But at the same time, knowing Stephen, I'm not shocked."

Cornrich did not immediately recognize Neal's name when he called that day in 2001, but he soon realized he had seen Neal in action, winning an N.C.A.A. wrestling title in 1998.

Cornrich, a self-proclaimed wrestling buff, said he was struck by Neal's strength and physique and curious about whether he might have the capability to make it in the N.F.L. Three years later, here was Neal reaching out to him for exactly that purpose.

A day or two after the call, Ghaffari dropped off Neal at Cornrich's home. The next day, at 5 a.m., Cornrich drove Neal from Cleveland to Columbus to work out with Dave Kennedy, then the strength coach at Ohio State.

Kennedy knew size would not be an issue for Neal. The X-factor that Kennedy needed to measure was Neal's burst, or the suddenness in which he was able to accelerate.

After five minutes, Kennedy looked at Cornrich and said, "We've got something."

"You can teach football, but you can't teach ability," said Kennedy, who is now the strength coach at Nebraska.

Meanwhile, Cornrich had persuaded Belichick, his longtime friend, to give Neal a tryout. At first, Belichick balked, sarcastically asking Cornrich if he was trying to take over Scott Pioli's job as vice president of player personnel.

But after Kennedy's seal of approval and two weeks of intense preparation, including learning the agility drills the Patriots use and the proper way to line up for the 40-yard dash, Neal got his tryout.

Light on knowledge but loaded with potential, Neal passed his test and signed a free-agent contract. He went from being one of the best in the world in one sport to what he called a "project guy" in another. He told himself to open his ears "and not have any pride and try to learn."

But it was hardly easy.

Belichick initially tried him on defense, a decision he called stupid, before switching him to the offensive line. That spurred Neal's long climb to his current job.

"When I tell you he didn't know where the field was, he didn't know where the field was," 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."

Neal's attempts at napping during training camp summed up his struggles. "I was lying in bed trying to get a nap, and all I could think of was 64 protection and thinking of all the possibilities, and my head is spinning," he said.

The Patriots cut Neal in August of that first season. The Philadelphia Eagles picked him up for their practice squad before the Patriots took him back and put him on theirs.

Neal was on the sideline as New England upset St. Louis in the Super Bowl in February 2002, and he earned his way into the starting lineup the next season.

But an arm injury in his first career start, in October 2002, kept him out for the rest of that season and for 2003. This season, Neal battled his way back into the starting lineup in Week 2 and has stayed there.

He has impressed his teammates with his ability and his humility, and has blended seamlessly into the Patriots' locker room.

"He lines up next to me on field goals, and I've seen him drop someone, then pick him up and say that he's sorry," said Lonnie Paxton, the Patriots' long snapper. "He's just a genuinely nice guy."

Neal has two rings to show for the Patriots' Super Bowl victories in the past three seasons, although he did not play in either game. But if the Patriots beat the Steelers on Sunday, Neal's climb will be complete. His next game will have Roman numerals attached to it.

"I always wanted to play football," Neal said. "I was very fortunate to get in the right place at the right time."

From Mats to the Pats

New England's Neal is making a swift transition from wrestling to NFL lineman

By Sam Farmer
Times Staff Writer

January 20, 2005

FOXBORO, Mass. — Determined to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of their players, the New England Patriots have turned a receiver into a part-time cornerback, a linebacker into a part-time tight end and a defensive tackle into a part-time fullback.

Their most extreme makeover?

Turning Stephen Neal into a football player.



Neal, who will start at right guard Sunday when the Patriots play at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game, didn't play a shred of football in college. He was a star wrestler at Cal State Bakersfield, where he won two consecutive NCAA Division I titles and in 1999 was given the Dan Hodge Award, the Heisman Trophy of college wrestling. He went on to win the U.S. freestyle championship, the Pan-American Games title and the world championship.

Once, while competing in Iran, he happened upon a poster of himself. It was 15 feet tall.

So what would drive a man in his early 20s to start at the ground level of one sport after reaching the summit of another? It's a question that crossed Neal's mind more than once in 2001, when the Patriots signed him as a rookie free agent and the rawest of prospects.

"I had a lot of days in training camp where I'm just lying in bed, trying to get a nap, and all I could think of was 64-protection," Neal said. "I'm just thinking all the possibilities and my head's just spinning. It was kind of frustrating, but then later on you kind of understand it a little bit more."

It was almost by happenstance that the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Neal, 28, became an NFL player. Since he was a kid growing up in San Diego, he wanted to play football. And he did play at San Diego High, where he was a five-sport athlete who also competed in track and field, tennis and swimming. Wrestling was his passion, though, and he once pinned Ricky Williams in a high school match.

Neal always maintained an interest in playing football, and after college a wrestling friend introduced him to agent Neil Cornrich, who represents several NFL players. A couple of years earlier, Cornrich noticed Neal while attending a wrestling tournament at Ohio State with former NFL players Kirk Lowdermilk and John Frank.

"We were watching this guy who looked like a California surfer enlarged," Cornrich said. "We were amazed at how he was beating someone so effortlessly, how uncannily athletic he was. He was freakish."

When they finally met, and Neal expressed an interest in taking a crack at pro football, Cornrich sent a tape to the Patriots and arranged a workout for him in front of Coach Bill Belichick. To prepare for that, Neal spent a week living at the home of Dave Kennedy, Ohio State's former strength coach.

"All he did was sleep, eat and work out," said Kennedy, now strength coach at Nebraska. "My kids thought he was a big bear. He'd sleep from 1 in the afternoon until 10 at night, then he'd get up and go to McDonald's."

Neal's dinner of choice: two double quarter-pounders and 25 McNuggets.

"Then," Kennedy said, "he'd go back to sleep."

Strange as it sounds, that regimen paid off. Neal impressed Belichick enough that the Patriots signed him for training camp. He spent a month with the team before being waived, then was signed to the Philadelphia practice squad. New England didn't forget about him, though, adding him to its active roster in December 2001 before making a Super Bowl run. Although he was inactive for the last three games of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, he clearly had piqued the interest of the eventual Super Bowl winners.

"He had the skills, tools and emotional makeup we look for," said Scott Pioli, New England's vice president of player personnel. "We had no idea if those skills would translate into football ability."

There were some embarrassing moments early on, times when he blanked instead of blocked.

"Coaches started yelling at you, and you just sit here and there's nothing I can say," he said. " 'Sorry. I screwed up.' "

The real test came in the 2002 season. Neal broke in against Miami in October, then got his first start against Green Bay. He injured a shoulder while recovering a loose ball and was out for the rest of the season. The shoulder bothered him last season and he sat out on injured reserve. That gave him time to concentrate on learning the nuances and many responsibilities of his job. He learned them well enough to earn a starting job this season.

"Some things carry over" from wrestling, he said. "Hand placement, leverage, mental toughness. But for the most part, it's completely different because it's 11 people on the field who are teammates, versus one person on the mat.

"I could knock someone on the ground, but if it's the wrong guy something bad could happen. So you have to do your job and everyone around you has to do their job. In wrestling it's just you go out there and try to dominate your opponent, put on a show for the crowd, do whatever you can do to try to win."

It sure is. Wrestling took him to Bulgaria, Turkey and Western Europe. It took him to Colombia, where he was protected by armed guards. It took him to Iran, where he stayed across the street from the U.S. Embassy, where the hostage crisis took place from 1979 to 1981. For a time, Neal was the best in the world at what he did.

Now, he's just trying to fit in.