DeAndre McNeal – Texas athletics
After a year in California, McNeal is hoping to rejuvenate his career back at the Division I level.
The journey of former Texas Longhorns wide receiver DeAndre McNeal was unexpected and a little bit circuitous, as the sophomore enrolled at Fullerton CC in California after a brief stop at Copiah-Lincoln CC in Mississippi, McNeal told Ryan Bartow of 247Sports.
After leaving Austin following an indefinite suspension handed down by head coach Charlie Strong, McNeal had originally hoped to land at Central Florida, Miami, or Utah, but it appears that those hopes were too optimistic, perhaps due to the unspecified violation of team rules that resulted in the Mesquite product’s suspension.
The 6’2, 234-pounder also considered Tyler JC and will now have to work his way back up to the Division I level the hard way — by producing on the field and taking care of business on and off the field.
A high school teammate of rising sophomore linebacker Malik Jefferson, McNeal committed to Texas on the same day. By the end of the process, McNeal was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2015 class and was ranked as the No. 20 athlete nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite.
After gaining a significant amount of weight upon his arrival in Austin, he was briefly moved from wide receiver to tight end during fall camp, but ended up back at wide receiver before appearing in 10 games on offense and special teams.
Against Oklahoma State, McNeal received one carry that went for nine yards. He also made a special teams tackle against Kansas State, but did not record a catch during his freshman season.