Eleven Warriors

Could this have to do with Jaylon Smith?  Or just some thing.

I think this has to do with distance. I believe someone earlier posted that his grandmother wasn't happy with the distance from Durham to Columbus so she vetoed it. Which if true is the biggest crock of shit ever. I don't care how attached your guardian is to you, they should want what is best for you, not limit you.

edit: If his decommitment has to do with the LSU offer, don't blame him, they put out stud D-linemen like no other.

His spot will be gone...count it. Urban won't take nicely to that. 

I don't remember if it was Alex or someone else the brought this up, but the other question here is whether Urban will leave the offer open. Remember he supposedly told Bri'onte Dunn that if he took a trip up to Michigan he no longer had an offer at OSU. Unclear what would happen this far out from signing day, but maybe a decommitment means Urban moves on.

If this is about staying closer to home I understand and wish him the best. If he even takes a visit to LSU though I would take his offer away and move on to another player at LB with Smith leaning Notre Dame. That player should be Kimbrough that gets an offer in that scenario, he is a player who actually wants to be a Buckeye.

Next........his ship has sailed, IMO.

This is why Tress would tell a guy to take all of his visits.

I think the difference with Brionte Dunn and Neal's offers have to do with the timing, as it was much closer to signing day and Urban was trying to finalize the 2012 class, and the fact that the 'other school' Dunn was looking at was Michigan. 

I think we all were surprised by Neal's commitment, and thus should not be surprised by this decommit.

You're a 3 star, kid. You're not Lawrence Taylor. Your delusions of grandeur will cost you an opportunity to play for national championships. Enjoy obscurity. Goodbye.

Mastermiind, think for a second about all the 3* kids who became stars in college. There's a reason Ohio State and many other BCS powerhouses are interested in Neal.

Lawrence Taylor, is that really a good comparison. I would refrain from comparing Neal to a man with a drug habit and an affinity for young girls.

Mastermind, are you serious? Such poor form. Why are there trolls all over this site now? It didn't use to be this way.

Who this benefits is Hurst, Munger, Hill, Green, or Kimbrough. I wish Lewis the best cause it's hard to believe this spot will be there for long.

Wow, Nuthouse, you must be hard to impress.  That guy is all over the line of scrimmage and backfield in that video... as a SOPHOMORE... those aren't even his junior highlights.  And I'm going to guess that the hype is coming from the fact that the coaches from multiple top programs want him.. coaches who have access to much more information than a year and half old highlight video from youtube.

I agree with you, McDougal, although I'm not sure how long his scholly offer will remain (if it isn't already revoked).  It will be interesting to see if any other LBs receive offers and/or commit soon...

@DMCDOUGAL, I totally agree with your rational post.  The majority of us don't have a fraction of the information about these recruits that the coaches have, let alone a fraction of the expertise needed to analyze that information.  And I get sick of all of the rationalization that happens here when a recruit decides on a different path... oh, he didn't have a "commitable" offer... he was only a 3*... Meyer "cooled" on him... if Meyer really wanted him, he would have gotten him.  It all sounds like sour grapes and makes us look bad as fans.

I think it's safe to say that the coaches wanted this guy... just like they wanted Gedeon (referring to a discussion currently on another thread), and the coaches know better than any of us.  But, no matter how good a program and coach you have, commits are going to go different ways for their own reasons.  That's just the way it is.  The benefit of having such a good program and such good coaches, is that more recruits will choose OSU.  We have to trust in that and trust in our coaches, and all will be good.

@Commandhead One of the more honest posts I've seen, you now exiled haha. 

May you be happy forever working at the same place. Heaven forbid another offer come your way that makes you reconsider

hey mastermiind...go to huntington bank and tell them that i give you my word to take out $2,000. im sure it will be fine. im commited to you doing this.

I'm not a big fan of recruiting.  I have been more interested of late, thanks to Alex and his fine work.  I hope the kid finds the right fit for him.  It would suck for him to come here and then transfer after his sophomore year.  I hope he makes the right choice for him first.  If it is in Scarlet and Gray great, if not good luck to you.  Being close to family is a big decision and being close to a grandparent that raised you is very noble on his part.  Shows Lewis has character and a sense of family.  No wonder Coach was after him.

Ok, so if he hasn't been taught the same values as you were, isn't that a product of society/environment, and not of personal integrity? He was much more repectful to all parties involved than any of the divas that prolong their recruitment until NSD just to let teams swoon over them when they knew damn well where they were going the whole time. You're coming off just the slightest bit elitist, and if we're gonna crucify one kid who does something like this because he owned up to a minor mistake in APRIL, we'd better do the exact same thing to every attention grubber who toys with every school they visit just to get more twitter followers. Kids acting this way is just an inherent product of people drooling over every move they make.

First off Buckeye, I am pointing the finger at society and the recent trend of things. I don't know the kid and I am not going to characterize him as being anything. I didn't declare anything about him, only offered advice. I am not an elitist which is why I offered the information about my mistakes. Who am I to judge the kid off of this one incident? Nobody. That's why I didn't break him down. My comments were on society of which I have ample experience with. Wish you would get to know me a little better before jumping to that conclusion yourself sir. I agree that this kid could be a product of people that drool all over him, then again, you have kids everyday that are raised in the most crime ridden poverty stricken areas that don't succumb to their environment and elevate themselves to something more. I don't know enough about Mr. Neal to know his exact situation. I just wish him the best in whatever route he takes.

I guess what is most perplexing is that people being honest and having integrity is considered to be elite or unusual.

No one said having integrity is elite, but saying that we're somehow deemphasizing "moral value" when a kid has trouble deciding what college he wants to is. Take a step back, it's not a presidential candidate, or an army general. It's a KID who's trying to figure out what's best for him and his college experience, and his decisions really don't have the dire social consequences you seem to be implying. The differences between our arguments are 1. That you seem to be saying that society is wrong for not pushing "morality", since being unable to make sturdy decisions is somehow immoral, and 2. That he is somehow different from you, because you "owned up" to your mistakes. I hope from seeing the above comments, that you realize his imperfection is no different than yours.

@Urbz 100% agreed

Come on guys :P

I came in late to this conversation, and maybe I'm repeating something thats already been said, but this is a teenager who is trying to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. He liked what he saw at OSU and verballed, but when he came home he started having second thoughts. So he changed his mind. I don't have hard feelings against him for this, and its completely silly for people to judge a kid for changing his mind as if none of us have ever made a decision, had second thoughts, and changed our minds. I wish Neal the best wherever he ends up playing.

I don't know if you all realize this, but national signing day is quite a few months away, so its better for everyone that this happen now rather than later. 

I won't sit here and judge this kid. Period. He is still a kid...granted a very physically gifted one. And he also seems to be a very sincere, level headed kid who got caught up in a wave of emotion. I haven't seen anything from him that would indicate he's a prima donna or an attention seeker like some of these kids. Just a kid who wants to play football, felt something was right in the heat of the moment, then had second thoughts. Nothing wrong with making sure its 100 percent right. If anyone should be upset, its urban meyer and the staff. But from all accounts it sounds like urban took it well and let him know the offer still stands. So if coach meyer didn't get bent out of shape about it...why are we as fans so up in arms?

I don't care so much about his de-commitment. So be it. It is his life and he states he has reasons for it so it is good enough for me. I don't know those reasons but if they were for interest in another program I wouldn't be pleased. The reason for this is in the title of the word.
Commitment = a pledge or promise; obligation. What we have here is not a verbal commitment, but top consideration.
I agree with most of you that I am glad this was done early instead of on the last day available for signing. My focus wasn't on Neal himself but on how society has shown a trend toward discounting honor and integrity. Some folks can't see that in the text because they are looking to be an advocate for someone for the sake of being a contrarian.
Am I happy to have Spence, Schutt, Pittman and others? Yes. Am I mad that the nameless one that left us to go to _ichigan? No. Both programs were in uncharted territory and it was unknown what was going to happen in their future. It is understandable that those recruits went elsewhere. It is likely understandable that Neal chose to de-commit. He says he has a good reason for that. Good enough for me. The point I was trying to make is clear but it is being danced around and redirected because it is easier for some person to gain support by trying to put the focus of the exchange as "an attack on an innocent 17 year old boy who shouldn't be held accountable for his decisions in life yet", than to acknowledge the point I was trying to make.

@irricoir...I see the point you are trying to make. Society has placed less emphasis on honor and integrity. That may be true. But we are talking about recruiting. People chase these kids, analyze their every move, word and try to derive anything they can from them. Its puts these kids in the drivers seat and feeds their egos. I don't think this is an ego driven move, just a kid who made a snap decision and thought better of it. I'm not saying you're attacking him...you're more or less indicting society on a lack of emphasizing core values. But we are talking about football here, not society. I agree with what you are saying about honor and integrity, so don't take what I have to say as being contrarian. Just don't feel you can look at recruiting as a whole and use it to lament the downfall of society.

Thanks gents. I am glad that you guys helped clarify the point I was unsuccessfully trying to make. Maybe using this platform as a spark to speak about another was a poor tactic.

I would welcome him back very quickly but I just don't see it happening. 

Good luck to him with whatever he decides to do. ..unless he goes to TSUN.