Versatile Rickey Neal leading UNI’s defensive breakthrough

CEDAR FALLS - Typically, Northern Iowa defenses under Mark Farley have been the strength of the team.

They are tenacious units that rally to the ball, make plays in the secondary and regularly get to the quarterback.

However, through the first four games of 2017, the UNI defense had only three sacks. Needless to say, the Panthers were searching for answers to their dormant pass-rush ahead of one of the most difficult conference schedule runs in school history.

Thankfully, the answers came at just the right time.

With new personnel inserted on defense before a Week 7 win against then-No. 7 South Dakota State, the Panthers were able to sack Taryn Christion twice and hurry him two more times. Last Saturday, led by junior defensive end/linebacker Rickey Neal's 3.5 sacks, the Panthers had their breakthrough game, sacking Youngstown State's quarterbacks a season-high 10 times.

'It's all in the preparation,” Neal said. 'Monday mornings, just like any other team, we have (offensive) line breakdowns. Then it comes down (to) when you're running games with the stunts, a lot of defensive line stunts, we're talking to our teammates like, ‘hey, could you do this a little bit more? Can you draw this guy this way? How can I draw this guy a little more this way so you can get free? Or, can you hit him at this angle so I can take this angle?'

'We're not running paper routes. We want to get (to the quarterback). We're talking to each other. Even if it doesn't look always pretty, we're freeing each other up.”

Neal, a junior from Racine, Wis., was a dynamic quarterback at Horlick High School and had a circuitous route to his current position as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker for the Panthers. Neal worked out at or has played quarterback, wide receiver, running back, safety, middle linebacker, weakside linebacker and defensive end during his UNI career. Those experiences, he said, helped him immensely now that he's settled in at one spot.

'I'm a communications major, and the beauty in it all is that (if) we have inexperienced players on the field, maybe in our secondary, even me in a (defensive) line stance I know the whole formation,” Neal said. 'I'll be able to alert them and tell them their technique. That's me at my best. Earlier in the season, I was kind of scared, kind of messing up a little bit.”

The communication of UNI's defense has improved well beyond Neal's the past couple weeks. However, that improved communication will no doubt face its toughest test yet when the Panthers visit the Fargodome on Saturday to take on No. 2 North Dakota State (7-0, 4-0).

'You have to respect what North Dakota State University does, and how they do it and how they prepare and how consistent they are,” Neal said. 'I'll be honest, and I'm not trying to sound rude, there's challenges and struggles within every team. If we execute then we don't really have to worry about them. My concern is not really what they're doing ... but it's more about us executing and being in the right position. Yeah, they give us tough looks, but our challenge is lining up, knowing the play before the play, or anticipating the play before the play and reacting extremely fast and flowing to the ball and finishing.”