Alabama's Evan Neal Making Smooth Transition to Right Tackle During Fall Camp

The sophomore offensive lineman has turned many heads during camp so far, impressing in his switch to right tackle from left guard

One of the University of Alabama's freshman phenoms from a season ago, offensive lineman Evan Neal, is taking his game to another level in 2020, making the switch from left guard to right tackle, to fill the void left by Jedrick Wills Jr. 

The 6-foot-7, 350-plus pound lineman spoke to the media Thursday afternoon via Zoom, offering perspective on how fall camp is going in his eyes.

"So far, the transition’s been treating me well," Neal said. "In high school, tackle was my natural position, so I feel like it just made the transition go much more smoother for me. I have more work that needs to be done, I can get better, but all in all I can say the transition has been going smooth for me. I’ve been pleased with my performance so far."

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban has also noticed how well the Okeechobee, Fla. native has fared 15 practices into fall camp.

"He’s done great," Saban said earlier this month. "He’s had a really good camp. He’s very powerful. He’s a prototype right tackle in my opinion for everything that we would look for. He’s very athletic for his size and he’s a good pass-blocker. He’s long. He’s hard to get around. He’s smart. He’s conscientious. He’s a hard worker. So I’ve been really, really pleased with his performance."

Neal made headlines earlier this summer, when he did a dynamic box jump of sorts that showed off his gnarly athleticism as documented by Alabama's director of sports science, Dr. Matt Rhea.

@ENeal73 demonstrating a dynamic coordination plyo. Really good athlete. pic.twitter.com/xv4UKGsobj

— Matt Rhea, PhD (@MattRheaPhD) August 5, 2020

"That was my first time doing something like that. Dr. Rhea and Coach Ballou, they’re great strength coaches, they teach us different exercises and whatnot like that," Neal said. "I feel like, as far as my athleticism goes, I don’t want to give myself too much credit of anything like that, but I feel like largely that goes to the fact that I come from a family of athletes. 

"I’m just a big athletic guy."

As the youngest of four returning starters on the offensive line, Neal says he is trying to soak up as much knowledge as he can being around seniors Alex Leatherwood, Deonte Brown, and Landon Dickerson.

"Those guys are great," Neal said. "It’s a real, real pleasure being able to play alongside guys that have that much experience. Alex, in my transition back to tackle, on our off days and in our free time, he’ll go to the band field with me, show me different set angles, help me with my punch timings. I’m really appreciative of that. It’s always good to have as much experience as we have in our room."

The Crimson Tide's second scrimmage of fall camp is this Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium and it's a pivotal one, as the season opener against Missouri on Sept. 26 is now almost two weeks away.

"Saturday’s scrimmage is extremely important," Neal said. "I feel like it furthers the training Coach Saban’s been having us doing. It’s another opportunity to go out there and get better, fine tune our craft so we can be ready come first game.