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Neal Named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week
10/19/2020 5:57:00 PM | Football
Thundering Herd linebacker honored
DALLAS - Marshall linebacker Eli Neal has been named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Neal was huge for the Thundering Herd in a 35-17 win at Louisiana Tech Saturday, as he helped pace a defensive effort that limited the host Bulldogs to just seven yards rushing on 24 carries to go with a 1-for-10 clip on third down attempts. He recorded seven tackles (three solo) with his first interception and a tackle for loss. The interception came on Tech's first play from scrimmage and his 11-yard return set up the Thundering Herd's first touchdown of the evening. The Memphis native also combined with Jamare Edwards to make the game's biggest defensive play and the duo stuffed Tech running back Justin Henderson on the goal line as time expired to end the first half. On the season, Neal is Marshall's second-leading tackler with 24 stops (nine solo). A Thundering Herd linebacker has now been named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week following three of their four victories. Tavante Beckett has captured the honor twice previously this season.
Marshall (4-0 overall, 2-0 C-USA) is set to face Florida Atlantic (1-0, 1-0) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET in the Thundering Herd's annual Homecoming game. The game, which will be produced by Stadium, is set to air on FOX's regional networks, the FOX Sports Go app and Stadium Plus on YouTube TV.
Neal was huge for the Thundering Herd in a 35-17 win at Louisiana Tech Saturday, as he helped pace a defensive effort that limited the host Bulldogs to just seven yards rushing on 24 carries to go with a 1-for-10 clip on third down attempts. He recorded seven tackles (three solo) with his first interception and a tackle for loss. The interception came on Tech's first play from scrimmage and his 11-yard return set up the Thundering Herd's first touchdown of the evening. The Memphis native also combined with Jamare Edwards to make the game's biggest defensive play and the duo stuffed Tech running back Justin Henderson on the goal line as time expired to end the first half. On the season, Neal is Marshall's second-leading tackler with 24 stops (nine solo). A Thundering Herd linebacker has now been named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week following three of their four victories. Tavante Beckett has captured the honor twice previously this season.
Marshall (4-0 overall, 2-0 C-USA) is set to face Florida Atlantic (1-0, 1-0) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET in the Thundering Herd's annual Homecoming game. The game, which will be produced by Stadium, is set to air on FOX's regional networks, the FOX Sports Go app and Stadium Plus on YouTube TV.
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