Lewis Matthew Neal (born May 17, 1995) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Early years

Neal attended James B. Hunt High School. As a senior he registered 68 tackles, eight sacks and one safety. He played offense and defense at the All-American Bowl where he was named Defensive MVP. He was rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. He accepted a football scholarship from

. He was a backup

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

as a freshman, and was a backup at

the following year. As a junior, he became a starter at

, leading the team with eight sacks (tied for 10th in school history), while collecting 48 tackles (9.5 for loss), eight quarterback hurries and six passes defensed. He had a dominant game against the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, posting three sacks (tied for second in school history), 10 tackles (3.5 for loss), three quarterback hurries and one pass deflected. As a senior, he started at

in the team's new 3-4 defense. He tallied 60 tackles (5.5 tackles for loss), 3.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries. He made a career-high 11 tackles in a 10–0 loss against the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. He was a part of a defense that allowed only 16

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

, while ranking second in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

in scoring (15.8 points per game) and third in total defense (314.4 yards per game). Neal finished his college career playing in 47 games (24 starts), recording 118 tackles (17 for loss), 12 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, seven passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Neal was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

on May 12. He was waived on September 2, and was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. On November 8, he was promoted to the active roster to replace an injured Brian Price. Although he was considered undersized for the position, he was used as a backup

in seven games. On September 1, 2018, Neal was waived by the Cowboys.

BC Lions

On January 5, 2021, Neal signed with the BC Lions of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, after being out of football for 2 years. He was released on July 19, 2021.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Lewis 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina American football defensive ends LSU Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players BC Lions players