Davonte Neal No-Show: The Benefits and Drawbacks of Notre Dame vs. Arizona

The top remaining recruit Davonte Neal was scheduled to make a decision on where he would play his college ball this morning. Instead, he ended up getting cold feet and didn't show up to his former elementary school and left the media and hundreds of kids searching for answers.

Nearly every kid at the Arizona elementary school was dragged out of their class to see one of the top wide receivers make his decision. But it now appears that we know less than we did a few hours ago about where he will end up.

He was expected to choose between North Carolina, Arizona, Notre Dame and Arkansas, while the Wildcats and Irish remain the front-runners for his services. 

Here are the pros and cons for the two schools that Neal appears to be torn between.

Notre Dame Benefits

Notre Dame has a great offensive-minded head coach in Brian Kelly and will find ways for the wide receiver to be most effective. With the school in South Bend, their academics are second to none which was something that really intrigued Neal when he visited the school back in December.

“They told me tonight it’s now a 100 percent graduation rate,” Neal said. “When I talked to them the first time it was 97, 98 (percent), but it went up. That’s what we talked about.”

Not to mention that it's Notre Dame, a school that doesn't need much selling as the university sells itself. It's one of the most prestigious programs in the country, and it would provide Neal the opportunity to contribute right away with his versatility and ability to play special teams.

Notre Dame Drawbacks

Notre Dame simply isn't the same football program they were several years ago. This is a team that's only won two bowl games since 1993 and have experienced several coaching changes since Lou Holtz was let go.

It's also a school that's over 1,600 miles away from his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. If you've been keeping track of the recruiting process, many of these kids prefer to stay close to home rather than travel further away from it. Not too many friends and family will be able to watch him play when that many miles is between them.

Arizona Benefits

Much like Notre Dame who has a great coach in Brian Kelly, Arizona has Rich Rodriguez, who is a mastermind with the spread offense. He'll be able to put Neal in the best position to succeed and make several plays for the Wildcats offense.

Neal is actually from Scottsdale, which happens to be less than a two-hour car ride away from the Arizona campus. And with several Wildcats players leaving, he'll have the chance to make an immediate impact.

His best friend and former teammate Cody Ippolito has already committed to the Wildcats, and his former high school coach Charlie Ragle is now an assistant on Arizona's staff.

Arizona Drawbacks

Truth is Arizona isn't exactly one of the premier football programs you think about when you're talking about college football. He won't be surrounded by elite talent like he would elsewhere, and he'll have to work even harder to just reach a bowl game in the top-heavy Pac-12. 

The Wildcats have only reached a bowl game three times since 1998 and have only won three bowl games since 1994.

Sure, things will likely turn around with Rodriguez taking over as head coach, but Neal would have to be much more patient if he goes with the home school. Things aren't going to change overnight, and there will be a lot of growing pains they'll have to overcome to become competitive.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].