Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
At 6’6” tall and 233 pounds with gaudy defensive stats, it’s no wonder that Garber senior Alex Neering had been recruited by several college coaches. The phone calls from recruiters may keep coming, but Neering recently decided to attend Central Michigan University.
“I really like the coaches; they were down to earth and relateable,” Neering said of verbally agreeing to become a Chippewa. “It’s close to home, and I know a lot of people that go there.”
Neering plans to play left tackle and defensive end in his senior year as a Duke, after finishing last season with 86 tackles (11 for loss), five sacks, four forced fumbles (two recovered), and one 69-yard fumble-return for a touchdown.
What position he plays in college is still up in the air. “It depends on how much weight I gain,” Neering said, adding that he wants to get up to 245 pounds by the time he graduates this spring. “I just lift and eat everything in sight and keep running. When I’ve gone to their camps I’ve played both sides of the ball.”
His coach Jake Coquillard believes Neering has the tools to be successful at the next level. “It’s been a privilege to coach him,” Coquillard said. “He comes from a great family, so that helps a lot. He’s a very respectful and a great young man. You throw that in, and he’s hard working and talented – it’s easy to see why he’s getting recruited. There’s no doubt in my mind that he will be playing withing a year or two, it just depends on what they want to do with him.
“Without sounding too cocky, we dare people to run at him,” Coquillard added. “Last year against Goodrich [in the playoffs], they sent three guys on him and he was still relentless. He’s one of our leaders, and we’re going to lean on him heavy this year.”
For now, Neering plans to keep his sights on his senior season. “It’s nice to just focus on high school football. I want to see us go undefeated; I want the whole team to be happy at the end of the season.”
The Dukes finished last year’s regular season 6-3 and dropped their opening round playoff game to Goodrich 30-20. Despite possibly being double- or even triple- teamed to keep him at bay on defense, Neering feels his Dukes can make another post-season run.
“We’re definitely making the playoffs,” he said. “We have a lot of team chemistry, a lot better than last year. We should have an undefeated season this year.”