DeSmet's Agnew and Neal: Taking the Next Step in Football

Creve Coeur Patch caught up with a pair of DeSmet track sprinters who are using the track and field season to gear up for football season. Senior Malcom Agnew is  signed and sealed to play next fall at Oregon State. His Spartan teammate Durron Neal, a Junior, could join him. According to rivals.com, the Beavers are one of 20 schools known to have made the all-purpose sensation a scholarship offer.

Agnew liked the "family atmosphere" on his two visits to OSU. He said there were several reasons why he picked Oregon State. (Head) "Coach (Mike) Riley  is a great man," he said. "They saw a lot in me, and they really made me feel welcome when I went up there...going to be a great time," he said.

Agnew said he met players James Rogers (senior wide receiver), Ryan Katz (junior quarterback) and Joe Halahuni (senior tight end) on his visits. "They're all good guys. (They) made me feel part of the family already, even when I wasn't even signing when I went up there yet."

He said he's feeling  healthy right now, and he's been working hard.  "As of now it's really not so much of a worry, if anything happens, I'll just have to shut track down, and get ready for football."

Unprompted, Agnew said, "Oh yeah, and academics of course. (I'm) majoring in physiology and exercise science."

In a February press conference talking about Oregon State's 2011 signing class, head coach Mike Riley, speaking about Agnew and Texas high school running back Storm Woods, said, “We saw these guys a long time ago and recruited them hard for a long time, kind of selecting them out of all the guys we evaluated, and we really like both their versatility and their production...I think that for us they’re going to be bona fide contenders early."

Over the weekend, The Register-Guard, in Oregon quoted Riley as saying his team was  "woefully thin at receiver," in spring practices, thanks to injuries.

He said Agnew and Woods are used to carrying the load for their teams, they can both run and catch the ball, and that size-wise, they'll be absolutely fine when they arrive.

While the recruiting process for Agnew is complete, it's still very much in play for Junior Durron Neal.  Neal tells Patch he expects by the time school lets out to narrow down his top teams. "Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, Mizzou, other schools like that, schools that are heavily recruiting me as a player," he said.

He's considering where he feels he can help the most, where he's the most comfortable and "who's going to make me into a better person, a better player and a man, and just feeling like I'm at home."

He's the first person in his family to go to college, he said, so academics are a big thing. "That's why they stay so hard on me in school, just so I can make it," Neal said.

He lifted weights over the winter and went from 180 to 194 pounds. Though he mentioned he needs to get his knee back to where it needs to be (an off-season injury slightly slowed him down in football), when asked about any concerns about injuries playing other sports, he said, "Nope, I'm healthy."

Neal ran for 23 touchdowns, with 1001 total yards gained in the 2010 football season for the Spartans, playing wide receiver, defensive back and quarterback. He's already been named a U.S. Army High School All-American, with a game to be played in San Antonio next winter.