Gator Country

Keanu Neal said he enjoyed getting to know some of the other future Gators during Saturday's practice. / Gator Country photo by Saj Guevara

Bushnell, Fla., safety Keanu Neal was one of five Florida verbal commitments that were on campus to take in Florida’s third spring practice on Saturday.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Neal began his day off by attending the defensive secondary meetings.

“The meetings went great,” Neal said. “Coach (Will) Muschamp was in there and he focused on teaching everything. He was talking about coverages and technique. I feel like I have already learned a lot about the coverages Florida plays by just sitting in on the meeting. They seem pretty simple.”

After taking in the meetings, Neal headed over to watch practice and see his future position group in action.

“The practice was a great time, and very intense and loud,” Neal said. “I was focusing in on the safeties and watch them perform and stuff. Coach Muschamp was really focusing on their footwork and the mental part of playing safety.

“I really liked that Coach Muschamp was on the defensive side of the ball and coaching up the safeties because that is my position.”

The South Sumter prospect was doing his best to recruit one of Florida’s top targets.

“Me, Quinton Powell and Nick Washington were talking to Alex Anzalone a lot,” Neal said. “We’re trying to recruit him to Florida. He seemed very interested in Florida and said it was his dream school. And they really loved Florida, and he said he was enjoying the practice and the coaches.”

Neal was joined by four of his fellow pledges at the practice, so this was just another opportunity to get closer with his future teammates.

“Every chance we get to build our relationship, we want it,” Neal said. “We want to be very close and communicate well because that will help us on the field. Being a family before we get to Florida will help us know each other’s strengths and weakness before we take the field.”

Neal said he plans to make it to many more practices this spring to continue getting comfortable with the Florida coaching staff.

About the author

Andrew Spivey

Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

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