Davonte Neal, Chaparral
Photo by Chris Pondy
After a head fake earlier this morning in which
Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) star
Davonte' Neal planned an announcement ceremony at a local elementary school and
then didn't show up, the nation's No. 67 recruit finally made his choice.
He signed his letter of intent at Kyrene de la Esperanza Elementary School to Notre Dame, according to Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound receiver/defensive back selected Notre Dame over Arizona, North Carolina and Arkansas.
Reports from early in the day suggested that Neal and his father Luke were at odds over Neal's decision, with
Luke preferring Notre Dame.
In December,
new Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez hired Chaparral head coach Charlie Ragle to his staff. Some speculated it was an attempt to help land Neal, who played for Ragle for two seasons.
Neal joins a
Notre Dame recruiting class that features 17 other players.
According to the Republic, Neal missed the morning ceremony but showed at Kyrene de La Esperanza, a school he attended as a youth, early in the afternoon to sign his letter of intent and meet with a few reporters who had stuck around. Notre Dame has confirmed Neal's letter was received.
He told the Republic a "family situation" arose, that it's "still fresh," but wouldn't describe what the situation was.
"It happens," Neal said. "You can't really control it. It happens and you have to go with it."
Neal told Obert that he would return to Kyrene de La Esperanza sometime this week to apologize to the some 600 students who were on hand for the morning event. They waited more than 30 minutes for Neal to arrive and were sent back to class. Also on hand were more than a dozen reporters, photographers and television crews.
As far as the process being finally finished, Neal said: "I'm so happy it's all over with. I've had some sleepless nights."
