Florida Linebacker Neiron Ball No Stranger to Adversity Entering 2015 NFL Draft

A starting linebacker at Florida who was invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, Neiron Ball is fighting for a chance to play in the pros. Just four years ago, however, Ball was fighting for his life, uncertain whether or not he would ever have a chance to play football again.

Rated a 4-star recruit by Scout.com out of Georgia's Jackson High School in 2010, Ball played in all 13 games of his freshman season for the Gators. Ball recorded 10 tackles as a core special teams player in his first year at Florida.

But in February 2011, Ball’s career was put on hold when pain in his head—pain that made him wonder if he would even make it out alive—sent him to the hospital.

“It was probably the scariest moment of my life … it was excruciating pain in my head and it wasn’t anything like a headache, it was much worse,” Ball said. “At that point when that was going on, I was definitely worried about living and worried about dying.”

Ball was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which occurs when “a tangle of blood vessels in the brain or on its surface bypasses normal brain tissue and directly diverts blood from the arteries to the veins,” according to the American Stroke Association.

The condition—which is usually congenital, meaning Ball was likely born with it—caused bleeding on Ball’s brain, which carries a 10-15 percent risk of death and a 20-30 percent risk of permanent brain damage, according to the ASA.

Fortunately for Ball, he was able to undergo surgery and make a full recovery.

“After my procedure that I had, I felt normal, so I knew that there would be a day again that I would play football again,” Ball said.

In spite of that, Ball was forced to sit out of the entire 2011 season. The hardest part of his recovery, Ball told Bleacher Report, was “just not being out there with my teammates and battling with them.”

Ultimately, Ball was cleared to return to the field in 2012, a season in which he not only played in 11 contests, but started two games. He finished his redshirt sophomore year with 10 tackles, one interception, one pass deflection and two fumble recoveries.

He went on to start seven games at linebacker in each of his final two seasons, emerging as a potential NFL prospect in the process. He has not had any further issues resulting from his AVM.

One might wonder, at a time when the risk of head injuries associated with football is in the spotlight more than ever, why Ball continues to play the game. Ball, however, said his brush with death has actually increased his dedication to playing the sport.

“When you go through an injury like that, a life-threatening injury, at any moment of your life, you could be dead. You could be paralyzed, it could be anything … and that’s at any moment of your life,” Ball said. “I feel like that’s not just football-related, so that’s why I go out, when I play football, I don’t think about injuries because at any moment of your life, your life could change just like that.”

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Overcoming hardship has been a regular aspect of Ball’s young life. His mother, Johanna, died when he was just six years old; his father, Ronnie, passed away when Ball was nine.

Ball credits his grandmother, Josephine White, with helping him get to where he is today.

“She just installed great values in me, and she just made sure that I always did the right thing and I worked hard at whatever I did and never gave up,” Ball said.

Another important figure in Ball’s life has been his brother-in-law, Dary Myricks, who stepped in to serve as a father figure.

“You name it, we’ve been through it,” Myricks said of his relationship with Neiron and his brother, Neland Ball. “It was kind of a dual role—sometimes brother-in-law, sometimes father figure, sometimes disciplinarian—whatever needed to be done to make sure that he’d be able to do what he needs to do.”

Myricks has also played a role in Ball’s football development. A former Arena Football League player, Myricks is now the head coach at Jackson High, where he was an assistant to former coach Mike Parris during Ball’s years on the team.

“He is unbelievably athletic,” Myricks said of Ball. “He’s one of those guys that he has athleticism, and [with] a year or two of development, he can turn into a monster NFL player because his athleticism is off the charts.”

That athleticism led to SEC scholarship offers, from which Ball ultimately chose Florida over Georgia.

“It was me trying to go out there and make a name for myself,” Ball said of his decision to play at Florida, citing the fact that his brother played at Georgia.

Ball was unable to achieve his primary goal at Florida, which was to win a national championship. All in all, though, Ball said he has no regrets about his decision to play in Gainesville.

“I feel like my love for football increased, and I feel like my love for the game just became greater because of all the things that I’ve been through,” Ball said. “Playing at Florida, you’re playing in the SEC week after week, and there’s a lot of high talent there so I feel like you’re playing against the best of the best every week.”

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Staying in theme with the rest of his life, Ball has once again battled adversity in the months leading up to the 2015 NFL draft.

He injured his knee in November, a setback that cut his season short after nine games and required microfracture surgery. As a result, he did not have the opportunity to play in a postseason all-star game, and he was also unable to participate in on-field drills at the combine.

Echoing his brother-in-law’s sentiment, Ball said he believes he is “the most athletic and versatile linebacker in the draft.”

If Ball is going to prove that, he’ll have to do so at Florida’s pro day, which will take place April 7 in Gainesville.

Realistically, Ball may not have had enough production at Florida to be selected in this year’s draft. Over his four-year career, Ball compiled only 94 total tackles; by comparison, projected first-round pick Eric Kendricks had 145 total tackles in his senior season alone.

Ball’s aforementioned injuries could also be a concern for NFL scouts; he also missed two games in 2012 with an ankle injury.

At times, though, Ball proved to be a difference-maker for the Florida defense, especially in his senior season. He recorded two sacks and a forced fumble in last season’s opener against Eastern Michigan, had a career-high nine tackles in his final collegiate game against South Carolina, and helped create two takeaways in a competitive loss to Alabama.

In the first quarter, Ball (No. 11) forced a fumble that would be returned 49 yards by Keanu Neal for a touchdown.

Later, in the third quarter, Ball deflected a pass on a free rush at Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims, leading to an interception by teammate Antonio Morrison. On the ensuing 20-yard return by Morrison, Ball continued his contribution to the play by sticking a block on an Alabama player.

Ranked as the No. 580 overall prospect in this year’s draft class by CBSSports.com, Ball presumably needs to perform well at his pro day, and prove he is healthy, to be one of the draft’s 256 overall selections.

That said, his invite to this year’s combine is an indicator that he is garnering attention from NFL teams, and should at least warrant consideration in the late rounds of the draft.

One team who could have an interest in drafting Ball, according to CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler, is the Atlanta Falcons, whose new head coach, Dan Quinn, was Florida’s defensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012.

All things considered, Ball might not be seen as a top NFL draft prospect, but if he becomes a productive player in the league nonetheless, it certainly won’t be his first time overcoming the odds.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Ball has set high goals for his prospective NFL career.

“I want to win a Super Bowl, first of all, and whatever my coaches and teammates need of me to win a Super Bowl, that’s what I’m going to do,” Ball said. “My second goal, I want to be a starter. I want to become a starter. And of course that’s just not given to you, you got to earn it. So I want to become a starter. And I want to become a Pro Bowler, and eventually the Hall of Fame.”

Myricks believes Ball’s history of overcoming adversity will help him achieve his goals at the next level.

“You don’t know if you’re tough till you’ve been through something,” Myricks said. “And I can clearly say he’s a tough kid. Why? Because he’s been through a lot.”

Myricks also testified to Ball’s character, identifying him as a person who will “check off all the boxes” off the field.

“We were checking out of Florida … and as we were leaving … the janitor, or the guy that was cleaning out the front building, stopped me and my wife and he said, 'That young man right there is a great young man,’ ” Myricks recalled. “[The janitor] proceeded to talk to us about 20 minutes about [Ball’s] character, how he carries himself when you’re not there; for us, that was special that not just anybody, but this janitor, stopped us to tell us how great of a young man he was and how he carried himself.”

Ball’s pursuit of the NFL has been undeterred by the challenges he has faced in life, and Ball is determined to achieve playing success. Myricks, however, hopes that success for Ball will not be defined by what he does on the football field.

“[Playing in the NFL] would be one of those things that it would be cool, that hard work paid off, perseverance pays off,” Myricks said. “If he don’t, the fact that he’s made it this far is proof that hard work pays off.

“What makes me so proud of him that I know that those traits are going to carry him way past football,” Myricks added. “The opportunity to play in the NFL, it’s a blessing, but I also know he’s going to be a successful as a father, he’s going to be successful as a man, because he knows how to persevere.”

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All GIFs made at Gfycat using video from YouTube.

Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow @Dan_Hope