Player Profile: Derrick Neal
#7 Derrick Neal
Rivals.com: Profile as recruit
Position: Cornerback
Height: 5-10
Weight: 170
Class: Senior
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Lincoln HS
2016 (Jr.): Played his first full season at cornerback in all 11 games he played … Totaled 15 tackles on the season … Broke up two passes … Notched a season-high four tackles at Oklahoma … Disrupted passes at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma … Rhode Island: Began his junior season with two tackles in KU’s win … Ohio: Provided one tackle against the Bobcats … at Memphis: Notched three tackles … at Texas Tech: Assisted on one tackle and broke up a pass against the Red Raiders … at Baylor: Contributed two stops against the Bears … at Oklahoma: Logged a season-high four tackles against the Sooners … at West Virginia: Posted one tackle against the Mountaineers … Texas: Logged one tackle in the victory over the Longhorns
2015 (So.): Played in 11 games with two starts against Baylor on offense and Kansas State on defense… Started the season as a wide receiver, but moved to cornerback prior to the Texas Tech game… Made 14 tackles on the year… Wrapped-up a career-high five stops against K-State… Forced a fumble against Texas Tech… Intercepted the first pass of his career against West Virginia… Also broke up two passes against the Mountaineers… Totaled seven receptions for 52 yards as a receiver… Returned nine kickoffs for 137 yards… South Dakota State: Made one catch for 20 yards and returned a kickoff 16 yards… Memphis: Saw time, but did not record any statistics… at Rutgers: Returned two kickoffs for 31 yards… at Iowa State: Caught two passes for six yards and returned six kickoffs for a career-best 90 yards… Baylor: Snagged a team-best four passes for 26 yards and returned a punt 10 yards… Texas Tech: Secured one tackle, while forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Jayhawks… Oklahoma State: Made a then career-high three tackles… Oklahoma: Made one tackle… at Texas: Saw time at cornerback and on punt return, but did not record any statistics… at TCU: Did not play… West Virginia: Saw extended playing time at cornerback, intercepting his first pass, while breaking up two more pass attempts, all while wrapping up four tackles… K-State: Started at corner and turned in a career-best five tackles.
2014 (Fr.): Played in four games in 2014 seeing time at wide receiver, cornerback and on special teams… Moved from wide receiver to cornerback following the Texas game... Oklahoma State: Played on both defense and special teams... Returned two punts versus the Cowboys... at Texas Tech: Returned two punts for 11 yards... at Baylor: Made one tackle before leaving the game with an injury... Missed the remainder of the season with an injury.
High School: Earned a three-star ranking from Rivals.com, ESPN.com and Scout.com... Earned 12-4A All-District honors as a senior... Helped lead Lincoln HS to an 8-4 mark and the 2013 4A Area Championship game... Carried the ball 73 times for 486 yards and four touchdowns... Also caught 22 passes for 259 yards and three TDs... Rushed for 343 yards and six touchdowns and hauled in 34 receptions for 519 yards and seven scores as a junior... Returned two kicks for touchdowns earning district Special Teams MVP honors and 12-4A All-District honors in 2012... Played for head coach Zarnell Fitch at LHS... Also a standout basketball player as he averaged 12.7 points and 4.7 assists per game as a junior in helping lead LHS to the Class 4A regional quarterfinals.
Personal: Son of Angela and James Williams... Has a twin brother, Erick... Chose Kansas over Texas Tech... Majoring in liberal arts and sciences.