Lorenzo Neal

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Lorenzo Neal

Date of birth	December 27, 1970 (age 36)
Place of birth	Hanford, California
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Weight	242 lb (110 kg)
Position(s)	Fullback
College	Fresno State
NFL Draft	1993 / Round 4 / 89th Overall
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	2003, 2006, 2007
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1993-1996 1997 1998 1999-2000 2001-2002 2003-present	New Orleans Saints New York Jets Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Cincinnati Bengals San Diego Chargers

Lorenzo LaVonne Neal (born December 27, 1970 in Hanford, California) is a Pro Bowl fullback in the National Football League. He played for Lemoore High School in Central California and Fresno State University. He was selected in the 1993 NFL Draft in the fourth round (89th overall) by the New Orleans Saints. Neal currently plays in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers. He has blocked for 1,000 yard rushers for 10 years in a row through 2006, first for Adrian Murrell of the New York Jets, then for Warrick Dunn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then for Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans and then for Corey Dillon (then) of the Cincinnati Bengals. He now blocks for LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, and is considered to be the best blocking fullback in the league, and draws admiration from fellow fullbacks for his unselfishness, most notably Tony Richardson who once said in a NFL Films reel; "I'd like to think of myself as a pretty good player at fullback, but Lorenzo Neal is on a whole 'nother level".

In 2006, Neal was voted into the Pro Bowl for the third time.

1 High School Years
2 College Years
3 Pro Career
4 Quotes

[edit] High School Years

Neal attended Lemoore High School in Lemoore, California and was a letterman in football and wrestling. In wrestling, he won a State Title as a senior.

[edit] College Years

Neal is an alumnus of Fresno State University. Finished college with 2,405 yards rushing. Was All-Big West his junior and senior seasons. Was also an all-American wrestler at Fresno State.

[edit] Pro Career

1993: Suffered season-ending ankle injury at Atlanta on September 12 after starting first two games…led team in rushing with 13 carries for 89 yards in NFL debut at Houston on Sept. 5…placed on Reserve-Injured list Sept. 15 for remainder of rookie season.

1994: Established career high with 30 carries, good for 90 yards and one touchdown.

1995: Caught career-long 69-yard touchdown pass at New England Dec. 3

1996: Set career highs with 31 catches and 194 receiving yards for New Orleans Saints.

1997: Helped New York Jets running back Adrian Murrell rush for 1,086 yards as team’s top fullback.

1998: Helped Tampa Bay Bucs running back Warrick Dunn rush for 1,026 yards.

1999: Selected to USA Today’s All-Joe Team…led way for Eddie George to rush for 1,304 yards in regular season and two 100-yard games in playoff as a member of Tennessee Titans squad that finished 16-4 and earned berth in Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams.

2000: Pro Bowl third-alternate after paving way for Eddie George’s 1,509 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns…NFL’s Best Blocking Fullback by Sporting News and named to Sports Illustrated’s Midseason All-Pro Team.

2001: Pro Bowl second-alternate…named to USA Today’s All-Joe Team…helped Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon rush for 1,315 rushing yards.

2002: Pro Bowl selection…paved way for Bengals running back Corey Dillon to rush for 1,311 yards.

2003: Pro Bowl first-alternate…named to USA Today’s All-Joe Team…helped pave way for San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson to rush for 1,645 yards and team to rush for 2,146 yards.

2004: Pro Bowl first-alternate…named to USA Today’s All-Joe Team…helped Tomlinson rush for 1,335 yards and Chargers rush for 2,185 yards as team.

2005: Pro Bowl starter…named to All-Interview Team by NFL.com…started 100th career game in season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. helped Tomlinson rush for 1,462 yards.

2006: Pro Bowl starter...helped Tomlinson rush for 1,815 yards and set an NFL record with 28 rushing touchdowns.

Neal has had a very interesting career and represents the ultimate example of the player who does not get credit for what he does. Neal's performance is an example of the intracacies of football, which, unlike baseball, cannot be statistically quantified in any way. Neal is regarded as one of the most punishing blockers in the NFL today. As opposing linebackers are always aware of the amazing back that is LaDainian Tomlinson in the Chargers backfield but may be more wary of Lorenzo Neal and his 5 foot 11, 255 pound body trying to level them to the ground. Neal has had a 14 year career to this point, and most of it has been exclusively on his ability to level opposing tacklers and not to allow them to tackle his running back. He has made seven straight Pro Bowls as of now so obvioulsy his contribution has not gone unnoticed to everyone. His career is an interesting one and its story deserves to be put down.

Neal was born in California near Fresno in 1970 and grew up there. He went to Lenmore High School and was a very successful football player but football actually wasn't his best sport. He also was a state champion heavyweight wrestler. His success in wrestling continued when he went to college at Fresno State and was an All-American wrestler there.

Neal also played football at Fresno State, of course. Despite his great NFL success in the blocking role Neal was not always supposed to be a blocker. In college he was a great running back at Fresno State, setting the school record with 2405 rushing yards over his career there. He also graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. Because of his great success as a runner Neal was projected to be a successful runner in the NFL as well. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 4th round in the 1993 NFL draft as a running back. Two games into his career he looked like a great pick as in his first game he had gained 89 yards on 13 carries and in the second game he broke off a 74 yard touchdown run with his first carry.

Neal may have become a great running back, but later in the game Neal suffered an injury that would dramatically change the course of his career. He broke his ankle in the third quarter of that 2nd game of his career while taking his third carry of the game. He was out for the rest of the year. His final stats for that year were impressive for limited time, 175 yards in 21 carries and an extremely impressive 8.3 yards per carry.

But the injury had made Neal a forgotten man for the Saints and also taken away much of his speed. He had a big frame though and was made a fullback the next year. The Saints drafted running back Mario Bates next year to take the place as the Saints feature back for the 1994 season. Neal did not originally take kindly to the move. He had gotten the ball ever since he had started playing football. Unfortunately, he took out his anger against Bates. When they were at a bar Neal insisted that Bates should provide him with money to buy a drink as a rookie. Bates refused and Neal proceeded to punch him in the face, breaking his jaw and sidelining him for four weeks.

Perhaps this incident made Neal all the more determined to get over his stuggles and unhappiness and just do the job he was presented with. He played in all 16 games for the Saints in '94 as a blocking fullback. This would be his permanent position for the rest of his career. With the Saints he continued to develop and learn this position. He had been humbled somewhat by his incident with Bates, and, most importantly, was never complained about again in the future as a clubhouse distraction. In fact as he got older he became a team leader and a great personality who gets along well with interviewers and reporters alike. In 2005 he was named to NFL.com's All Interview Team for the best interviews in football. It would have been hard to imagine Neal maturing that much after the incident he had earlier.

As he moved on in his career Neal became progressively better. In 1997 with the Jets he helped running back Adrian Murrell to a 1000 yard season. This would be the first of Neal's current streak of 9 straight years blocking for a 1000 yard runner. His success has come with so many different backs (Murrell, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Corey Dillon, and Tomlinson) that it is hard to claim Neal's consistency in devlivering these runners is mere coincidence.

Neal has another record/attribute of great significance outside of his unquestioned blocking excellence, and that is his durability. Ever since that injury in the 1993 season Neal has played every single game every single year, 192 straight games. Neal rates along with Brett Favre as perhaps the most consistently durable player in the NFL today. Neal also packs a bit more punch in his play these days than Favre does as he probably is the best fullback in the NFL.

Much of Neal's unbelieveable strength and conditioning comes from his tough offseason training. The training that he had received as a wrestler plays a key role in his success as a professional football player even today. He works out in the offseason with wrestlers and boxers and his brother, Eddie, is a professional heavyweight boxer.

Today Neal receives acccolades as the best fullback in the league as as the key lead blocker for stud back LaDainian Tomlinson. He also is now a very dignified presence for the Chargers. He helps to administrate a foundation with the Chargers which stresses getting a college education to young athletes in Fresno.

After his career Neal wants to join sports broadcastingn He has already made token appearances on NFL Network as a host on NFL Total Access. Neal is a great player, a great fullback, and has been key to the success of this year's MVP. His legacy will not be soon forgotten. Of course, Neal still remains one of the best in the NFL despite his old age (currently 36 years old). Perhaps the HOF is even in his future. There should be room for a guy who has been one of the best blocking fullbacks and most durable players in the leauge for over 10 years.

[edit] Quotes

"People like the melons, the strawberries, the bananas; they like the tomatoes. I'm like that old onion; When you want a good hamburger, you've got to call on that old onion"--Neal on his role in the Chargers offense.