Mike Neal
{{Short description|American football player (born 1987)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Mike Neal
| image = Mike Neal 96 Dec 2013.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Neal with the Green Bay Packers in 2013
| number = 96
| position = Linebacker
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|6|26}}
| birth_place = Gary, Indiana, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 262
| high_school = Merrillville {{nowrap|(Merrillville, Indiana)}}
| college = Purdue
| draftyear = 2010
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 56
| pastteams =
- Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|2010}}–{{NFL Year|2015}})
| status =
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 133
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 19.0
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 3
| statlabel4 = Pass deflections
| statvalue4 = 1
| statlabel5 = Interceptions
| statvalue5 = 1
|pfr=NealMi99
}}
Michael Jamel Neal (born June 26, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers. Neal was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. With Green Bay, he won Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early life
A native of Merrillville, Indiana, he attended Merrillville High School where he was first-team all-state as senior after totaling 59 tackles, including 24 for loss and 12 sacks, with 20 quarterback hurries, six pass breakups and one blocked kick. As a junior, had 49 tackles, including 14 for loss and four sacks, with three pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 29th best strongside defensive end prospect of his class.[https://sports.yahoo.com/purdue/football/recruiting/player-Michael-Neal-29923 Michael Neal - Yahoo Sports]
College career
{{Unreferenced BLP section|date=May 2025}}
Neal attended Purdue University from 2005 to 2009. After redshirting his 2005 freshman year, he appeared in nine games as a sophomore, he had nine tackles, including 1.0 for loss, and one pass breakup despite missing five games with turf toe injury. In 2007, he appeared in all 13 games, and recorded 22 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and 2.0 sacks, with one pass breakup. In 2008, he appeared in all 12 games, including 11 starts. He ranked second on team with 5.5 sacks and third with 10.0 tackles for loss, while adding 33 total tackles. As a redshirt senior, he started all 12 games, finishing third on the team in tackles for loss with 11.5 and second in sack with 5.0, while forcing one fumble.
Professional career
{{ external media
| video1 = [http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/09000d5d816ddb90/2010-combine-workout-michael-neal Neal's NFL Combine workout]
}}
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 3
| weight = 294
| dash = 4.95
| ten split = 1.70
| twenty split = 2.84
| shuttle = 4.53
| cone drill = 7.53
| vertical = 33
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 5
| bench = 31
| arm span = {{fraction|33|1|2}}
| hand span = {{fraction|10|1|4}}
| note = All values are from NFL Combine{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/mike-neal?id=496833|title=NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Mike Neal|work=NFL.com|access-date=August 14, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=78271&draftyear=2010&genpos=dt|title=Mike Neal - Purdue, DT : 2010 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile|work=NFLDraftScout.com|access-date=August 14, 2016}}
}}
Neal was selected in the second round (56th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2010 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2010 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2010/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Neal played two games during his rookie season in 2010, recording a sack, forced fumble 3 tackles. In 2011, he gained more playing time, seeing time in seven games. Neal played 11 games with 1 start, making 11 tackles with 4.5 sacks in 2012. On March 12, 2013, he re-signed with the Packers on a two-year deal. In 2013, Neal played all 16 games for the first time of his career, totalling 47 tackles, 5 sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. He played all 16 games, recording 33 tackles with 4.5 sacks in 2014. In 2015, Neal played all 16 games for the third straight year, producing 36 tackles and 4 sacks. He had an impressive performance in the NFC wild card game against the Washington Redskins, where he sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins twice while also forcing a fumble.
=Statistics=
The following statistics were retrieved from NFL.com.{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/player/mikeneal/496833/careerstats|title=Mike Neal: Career Stats|work=NFL.com|access-date=August 14, 2016}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan=2|Year | rowspan=2|Team | rowspan=2|G | rowspan=2|GS | colspan=5 |Tackles | colspan=6 |Interceptions | colspan=2 |Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR |
| colspan=17|Regular season | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | GB
| 2 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 1.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2011 | GB
| 7 || 0 || 3 || 1 || 2 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2012 | GB
| 11 || 1 || 11 || 8 || 3 || 4.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2013 | GB
| 16 || 10 || 47 || 36 || 11 || 5.0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 1 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2014 | GB
| 16 || 3 || 33 || 20 || 13 || 4.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2015 | GB
| 16 || 15 || 36 || 24 || 12 || 4.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan=2| Total || 68 || 29 || 133 || 92 || 41 || 19.0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3 || 0 | ||||||||||||
| colspan=17|Postseason | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | GB
| 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2012 | GB
| 2 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2013 | GB
| 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2014 | GB
| 2 || 0 || 8 || 4 || 4 || 0.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2015 | GB
| 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 2.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 | |||||||||||
| colspan=2| Total || 8 || 3 || 14 || 9 || 5 || 2.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Mike Neal}}
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422124032/http://www.packers.com/team/roster/mike-neal/d19b2a09-4611-48ed-92f0-4cea790a5af1/ |title=Green Bay Packers bio}}
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814041955/http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/neal_mike00.html |title=Purdue Boilermakers bio}}
{{Green Bay Packers 2010 NFL draft picks}}
{{Super Bowl XLV}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Mike}}
Category:Players of American football from Gary, Indiana
Category:People from Merrillville, Indiana
Category:Players of American football from Lake County, Indiana
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:American football linebackers