Luke Neal is at it again - taking his son on the road.
The former Ahwatukee Foothills resident and his son, Davonte, are going to announce the latter's college decision for football at Kyrene de la Esperanza Elementary, where the latter attended, on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
He chose his former elementary, located at 14841 S. 41st Place, as a way of thanking the Esperanza staff for providing a solid foundation and helping him in his pursuit of his dream - to play college football, and one day, play for the NFL .
That's all well and good. I even believe it is true.
But I also believe this is just another calculated move by his father, who has shown a tendency to do whatever it takes to put his son in the spotlight.
As a parent I can understand it to a degree. I want the very best for daughter as well.
It just seems odd that the Neals wouldn't stage this silly ceremony - not just his, I dislike all of these dog and pony shows where they have all of the hats in front of them before picking one after a dramatic pause - at Chaparral where he has helped the Firebirds to two state championships.
Luke Neal, who I've met only once, has had a master plan from the start and this is the culmination of it.
His son started out in the Mountain Pointe district, the father had a meeting with a member of Desert Vista coaching staff to gauge how much he would play as a freshman, he ended up at Cesar Chavez as freshman before leaving for Chaparral when the Champions got in trouble with the AIA in part, reportedly, because of some of the things the elder Neal did.
Davonte, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound wide receiver/defensive back, has narrowed his choices down to University of Arizona, Notre Dame, University of Arkansas and North Carolina.
I wrote a month ago that I thought he'd up at Arizona and I will stick that.
Contact writer: (480) 898-7915 or Jskoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSkodaAFN.
