How often do you see a player lead their team in rushing yards on one side of the ball and also lead their team in tackles on defense?
These days it is pretty rare.
But it is exactly the case with Liberty’s Mr. Everything, Zach Neill.
Quietly, Neill is one of the top all-around players in the state and is an essential part of the Lions football team.
“I am just always out there giving it my all,” said Neill. “It’s nice that it is starting to pay off.”
Neill led the Lions in tackles last season as a junior so going into 2013, the coaching staff wanted to find more ways to get him to be around the ball and making plays on that side of the ball. They executed just that by switching him to a free safety, rover type role.
“I am definitely able to now make plays in the secondary,” Neill explained. “And I am still able to come down and make some plays in the hole.”
“We just want him all over the field making plays and that’s what he does,” added Liberty Head Coach Danny Filleman. “We just want to clone him and make a few more of him.”
Being involved in so many plays on both sides of the ball, you wonder who anyone is able to be able to breathe. But hard work in the off-season has had Neill prepared for this role he is playing.
“He’s a great asset for anyone’s program,” mentioned Filleman. “He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart. He is a great leader. He has really stepped up this year. He’s been just Mr. Everything.”
Neill’s play on the field is getting noticed and his leadership on this Liberty team is becoming contagious. He is getting looked at by Ivy League schools to play at the next level and more colleges around the nation are keying in on him.
For now, Neill’s focus is on his Lions and a run in the division III playoffs.
Jared Cohen
