Devin Neal is the Hometown Hero Kansas Needed

There’s something special about a kid who stays home.

Devin Neal grew up in Lawrence. Went to high school in Lawrence. Committed to Kansas when Kansas was a complete and total dumpster fire. Everyone told him he was crazy. “Go somewhere you can win,” they said. “Don’t waste your career on a losing program.”

He didn’t listen.

And now he’s the face of the Kansas football renaissance. A homegrown star who believed in his hometown team when nobody else did.

I’ve watched a lot of running backs over the years. Neal isn’t the flashiest. He’s not going to make highlight reel jukes that end up on SportsCenter. But he’s complete. He can run between the tackles. He can catch passes out of the backfield. He can pick up blitzes. He does all the little things that make an offense function.

Over 1,000 yards rushing this year. Add in the receiving numbers and he’s well over 1,200 yards from scrimmage. That’s production. That’s consistency. That’s showing up every week and doing your job at a high level.

But the numbers aren’t what makes Neal’s story compelling. The story is the loyalty.

When Neal committed to Kansas in 2020, the program had won exactly one Big 12 game in the previous four years combined. ONE. They were a laughingstock. The coaching staff that recruited him got fired before he even enrolled. He could’ve asked out of his commitment. Nobody would’ve blamed him.

He stayed anyway.

And then Leipold came in and actually built something, and suddenly Neal’s bet on Kansas didn’t look so crazy. Suddenly his decision to stay home looked like faith that was being rewarded.

Jake’s note: I love stories like this. Sports are at their best when they’re about people who believe in something bigger than themselves. Neal believed in Kansas when Kansas gave him no reason to believe. That’s real.

The last few years, Kansas fans have watched Neal run out of the tunnel at Memorial Stadium and thought “that’s OUR guy.” Not a transfer who came in to elevate his draft stock. Not a mercenary chasing NIL money. A kid from Lawrence who chose to stay home and build something.

That matters. In an era of constant movement and transactional relationships, a hometown kid sticking with his hometown team matters.

Good for Devin Neal. Good for Kansas. Good for everyone who likes stories that actually mean something.

— Mike