San Francisco native Julian Neal prepares for NFL draft

SAN FRANCISCO - 2026 NFL Draft prospect Julian Neal is anticipating an emotional roller coaster during the NFL Draft.

"I tell people jokingly I'm going to be so nervous I might not even watch it. I might be sleeping somewhere. I'm going to have dad come wake me up," said Neal.

Defying expectations

The road to this point:

Before his rise to stardom, Neal said his peers didn't think he could ever be in this position.

Even his trainer, Rico Armstrong, was hesitant to invest in him at first.

"I always remembered he had a broken wrist. So I just kind of threw him to the side, ‘go over there,’ and I really didn't take him seriously, but he was doing everything," said Armstrong.

The Mission High School graduate went on to become the first football player out of San Francisco public schools since 2001 to sign their national letter of intent to play at the division one level.

After four years at California State University, Fresno, Neal decided it was time for a fresh start.

College commitments

The next steps:

He entered the transfer portal and committed to Stanford. But after Stanford went through coaching changes, he chose to end his college career as an Arkansas Razorback.

"I played against the top people in the nation, I played against first round draft picks and I just want that to be known and when you turn on the tape you can't say anything about it," said Neal.

Neal's breakout year at Arkansas earned him an NFL combine invite where he displayed his athletic ability in front of a plethora of NFL scouts.

NFL Network analyst Charles Davis gave Neal a suggestion to prosper in the league.

"I watch him and I think ‘safety.’ I see him. He's a big strong corner back. Do you see that body? When you watch him play and how physical he is with transitions, it would not surprise me at all to see him transition back to the safety spot and be a really good player," said Davis. "He mentioned something about how my body looks and how big I am. So I can see where he's going with that. Corner is what changed my life, but I wouldn't be opposed to switching to safety and being an all-pro."

Parlaying with pros

Big picture view:

Since the combine, Neal has had visits with the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and participated in the 49ers local pro day.

Neal expressed he would be grateful to play for any franchise, but he admitted playing for the 49ers would be special since he grew up rooting for them.

"I was able to see the stadium literally from my window. So as a kid, being able to see those fireworks and just sitting at the window by myself… it's just like ‘dang I need to be there one day’ and I need to make my city proud," said Neal.

Dig deeper:

Neal's trainer, Armstrong, said he has been training athletes for more than three decades.

He said he made a promise to himself 20 years ago that this would be his last year training kids at the division one level. So it will be an emotional moment when he hears Neal's name called during the draft.

"I definitely think there will be some emotions, little tears, but I think we had our tears during trial. We went through a lot of trial," Armstrong said. "But we just stuck with it, ‘let’s get back to work.' So that's the satisfaction for me that he fought through it, so that will leave a tear for sure."

What's next:

The NFL Draft begins on April 23rd and Neal is projected to be selected on day three of the draft.