48 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED
Celebrates
Student-Athletes
Meet You At Arni's
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Danny Ezechukwu
Sophomore, Industrial Management/Science
Ezechukwu, a sophomore linebacker from Lithonia, Ga., was one of
19 football players to earn Fall Academic All-Big Ten honors. To be
eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be
letterwinners, in at least their second year at their institution and
carry a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0.
Women's cross country and soccer also had 14 honorees,
second only to football. Men's cross country had 13 members
recognized and volleyball eight. Volleyball's total marked half
of the roster. Women's cross country sophomores Kendall Hacker and Reagan Lear
were recognized for having perfect 4.0 GPAs. They were two of merely 21 individuals
across the seven fall Big Ten sports honored for perfect marks in the classroom for any
conference school.
When he arrives in June, Neal
will step into a largely open fray at
his position, assuming he sticks at
tackle; he says he can play guard,
also.
But his height and length seem
to jibe well with tackle.
"I'm versatile. I'm good at run
blocking," Neal said. "I won't stop
until the play is over. I can play
outside or I can play inside. I can
play left side, right side. I'm ver-
satile. I love playing the game and
love being aggressive."
Neal, a Detroit native original-
ly, was briefly committed to San
Diego State before uncertainty
about his scholarship compelled
him to re-open and commit to Pur-
due sight-unseen. It was originally
hoped he'd be a mid-year transfer,
but that plan fell through. Still,
he's hoping to make an immediate
impact.
"Every JUCO kid has a choice
to make. For me, I knew wherev-
er I was going to end up going, I
was going to perform," he said.
"It's not a cocky thing. It's a confi-
dence thing for me. I will never say
I'm better. It's just the fact I will
do whatever it takes to get on the
field and do what I have to do."
For more on Neal, see Pages 42-
43.
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