Keanu Neal prides himself on his big hits.
At 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, Neal knows he’s bigger than most defensive backs, and he’s not afraid to take down anyone who comes his way with the intent of stopping them cold in their tracks.
But in a secondary as stacked with talent as UF’s, Neal also knows that big hits alone won’t keep him in the starting lineup.
So heading into his junior year, Neal said he’s focusing more on his coverage skills than any other facet of his game because at the end of the day, that’s a defensive back’s top priority.
"Everyone knows me as being a box safety, a hard hitter, things like that," Neal said, "but just playing with the other DBs just makes me want to focus on going for the ball."
Already in Fall camp, Neal has shown progress with his pass coverage. He lit up camp early with a one-handed interception on the third day of practice.
And Neal, as well as the rest of Florida’s secondary, is hoping to do more of the same once the season gets underway.
The Gators finished second in the Southeastern Conference last season and fourth nationally with an average of 6.5 passes defended per game.
Neal tied for second on UF’s roster with three interceptions, one behind Brian Poole for the team lead, but the Bushnell, Florida, native had just four other pass breakups in his 10 games on the field.
While he showed flashes of brilliance at times — notably his two-interception game in UF’s triple-overtime win against Kentucky and his fumble recovery for a touchdown one week later against Alabama — Neal’s coverage skills were erratic at best.
Erraticness won’t cut it this year as Florida returns all of its starters from a secondary full of important pieces, a list that includes All-American Vernon Hargreaves III, Freshman All-American Jalen Tabor and veterans Poole, Marcus Maye and Nick Washington, among others.
"Going against this defense every day is really good because those guys really test you in everything they do," McElwain said.
"They run to the ball. There’s some really good players on defense."
Poole, a senior who has six interceptions to his name and is spending the bulk of camp repping at the nickel cornerback position, said this secondary has the potential to be special
"We’ve got all the pieces," Poole said. "We’ve all played together. There’s a lot of chemistry involved. That really helps."
But to Neal, the potential means nothing if Florida can’t make the plays.
"We’ve just got to live up to it," Neal said. "We say we’re the best in the country. We got to do it."
UF defensive back Keanu Neal leaps to make a one-handed interception during practice Aug. 8, 2015, at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
