Moe Neal felt at home on his July 16 visit to Syracuse. He ate at Varsity Pizza, tried on Floyd Little’s Hall of Fame jacket and discussed the Orange’s new hybrid position with sophomore Ervin Philips.

“Syracuse is trying to turn things around,” Neal said. “…and I think I want to be a part of that.”

Neal verbally committed to become the 15th member of SU’s 2016 class on Saturday. The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Forestview (North Carolina) High School product is ranked as the 38th-best athlete in the class by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. His top five schools also included Mississippi State, Boston College, Duke and finalist Wake Forest.

While at Syracuse, Neal met with sophomores AJ Long and Philips. Philips told Neal he loves the hybrid because of the way it puts him in space with an opportunity to make plays. The position may line up as a running back or slot receiver and also take jet sweeps — three things Neal has done in high school.

“I just think it’s an honor that they recognize me as a guy that can come in and play that position that they just brought up,” Neal said.

Good Decision lil Bro @Captainmoe21_ congrats

— Ervin Philips (@Ambition1_) August 1, 2015

He now joins one of his best friends, four-star 2016 commit Robert Washington. The two have known each other since they were about 9 or 10 years old, Neal said, and they’ve “always” talked about playing together in college.

While Neal said Washington factored into his commitment, it didn’t play a significant role.

“I have to do what’s best for me,” Neal said. “I can’t go to school for anybody else because I’m the one that’s going there, but at the end of the day, it worked out.”

After Washington committed in April, he tweeted about some of his friends also joining Syracuse. Neal said three-star defensive tackle and Penn State commit Christian Colon may be interested in visiting Syracuse, but that he’s heard Penn State would pull his scholarship if he takes an official visit to any other school. At this point, though, the situation is fluid since it’s only a verbal agreement.

While Neal is looking to recruit others, the one who played a “huge” part in his recruiting process was Little, who wore No. 44 for Syracuse and now works for SU Athletics. When they first met, the former running back talked to Neal about why he chose Syracuse in 1963.

On Sunday morning, Little told Neal over the phone that he can’t wait to get know him even better over the coming years.

“Not everyday you get to talk to an NFL Hall of Fame player,” Neal said. “Hopefully one day I get to make it to that stage.” 

Not everyday you get to talk to a Hall Of Fame Player. The Great Floyd Little pic.twitter.com/16KWR0kfEM

— Moe Neal (@Captainmoe21_) July 16, 2015

Published on August 2, 2015 at 10:20 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds