Julian Neal: DB · Arkansas · #23.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Julian Neal
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Jeff Tedford, Tim Skipper and Sam Pittman. On tape: 8 tackles against Notre Dame, Week 5, 2025.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
55 tackles. 10 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Arkansas | 55 | 32 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | Fresno State | 32 | 19 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2023 | Fresno State | 9 | 7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Fresno State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 97 | 59 | 7.5 | 1.0 | 16 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-7vs Alabama A&M | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 56-14vs Arkansas State | 11 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 35-41@ No. 17 Ole Miss | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-32@ Memphis | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-56vs No. 22 Notre Dame | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 31-34@ No. 12 Tennessee | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 42-45vs No. 4 Texas A&M | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-33vs Auburn | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | L 35-38vs Mississippi State | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 22-23@ LSU | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 37-52@ No. 17 Texas | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | L 17-31vs Missouri | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 32 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 10 |
Week 2 · 2025
W 56-14
vs Arkansas State · neutral site
1 interception · 0.5 tackles for loss · 11 tackles
Dominant 42-point win at a neutral site against Arkansas State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
18%10 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
55tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%2 TFL55 tackles · 2 for loss · 10 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sam Pittman
Pass share
48.8%
381 pass / 400 run
Plays / game
65.1
12 games
Team sack rate
6.5%
417 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #42 at the position.
The No. 1,608 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the SEC as a senior.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Fresno State and Arkansas, 97 tackles — drafted at #99 overall by the Seattle Seahawks.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
5 coachesPlayed for 5 head coaches at 2 schools: Kalen DeBoer, Jeff Tedford, Tim Skipper, Sam Pittman and Bobby Petrino.
Next stop · NFL
Seattle Seahawks2026 NFL rookie season
Seattle Seahawks2026 NFL rookie season
