We would like to welcome our newest diamond in the rough to Gridiron, Gabriel Neuville, a 2027 WR out of Acadiana Christian Academy in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. Neuville’s fastest times are a 4.48 in the 40, a 4.1 shuttle, an 8’7 broad jump, and a 29.2 vertical. He is very fast and shifty, and his specialty is yards after catch, where he is super effective. He had an unbelievable junior year with ACA, putting up 1296 receiving yards, ranking him third in the state of Louisiana for that year. He attended the Gridiron Football Breaux Bridge elite camp, where he showed out and had a big performance. He will also be participating in the Dream All-American Classic Bowl Game at AT&T Stadium after his senior year.
Here is my conversation with Gabriel Neuville:
What has your football journey been like for you? At what age did you start playing football, and what originally inspired you to play football?
I started playing flag football around fourth grade. Back then, I was really more locked into soccer and baseball. However, I kind of felt like soccer was too much running around and not doing a lot, and then baseball was kind of the opposite. It wasn’t my kind of pace for how I wanted to play a sport. So I ended up getting into flag football with a couple of my buddies, who were just rec teams and school teams. Eventually, I found some guys who were also homeschooled and on the same teams, and we became really close. So I ended up learning about a homeschooled tackle team, called ACA, Acadiana Christian Athletics, right here in Broussard. So I ended up joining that team in eighth grade. I was definitely a bit nervous coming from flag, but I ended up playing DB and receiver, then started, I think it was the junior high team at that time, and then next year, my freshman year, I was back up like second and third string corner and receiver. It was a good year; we had a good JV team that year, and then in sophomore year, a lot of the seniors left, so it was my first year starting. It wasn’t really a breakout year or anything. I think I had maybe 5 or 6 touchdowns and no more than 500 yards. It wasn’t too big of a year. Then this past year, my junior year was definitely a real breakout year. I’ve started varsity at wide receiver, and as the year went on, I ended up getting double- and triple-teamed throughout the teams we played. My biggest game was about 350 yards, 4 or 5 touchdowns, and one of them was a kick return. We do have to travel a lot. I want to say Texas and Mississippi to play teams. I’m going to finish the year with 1296 received yards, which put me at third day state of Louisiana.
What part or parts of your game do you feel like you have improved the most over the years?
I definitely think I’m really good at my route running and yards after catch. I’ve had a lot of breakaway receptions of like 60 to 80 yards.
What are some things you want to improve on going forward?
I definitely want to keep improving my route running. I don’t think you can really stop improving at that. The same way with my hands, I’ll definitely think, just as you keep going, you have to improve at everything in your craft. Being in a situation where I can make more one-handed grabs and stuff will get the coach’s attention in the film room.
What camps did you go to previously?
After my sophomore year, going into junior year, I was invited to a couple of camps. One of them was Texas State University, which was a really nice camp I went to. I was invited to a couple more D1 schools in Texas and Arkansas, and some up north, like Illinois, but many were a little too far for me to travel, especially since I was only a sophomore heading into my junior year. I frequently attend the LCU and UL Lafayette camps. I also went to Grambling State’s camp, which was pretty fun, and then this year so far, I went to the Gridiron camp and the LCU showcase camp.
Talk about that Breaux Bridge camp experience a little bit, and what it was like seeing players you haven’t really met before, and getting to play some different competition
I definitely think it was really nice. I really liked some of the competition I faced at that camp. That was also really nice, being able to see some guys that were at that camp when that one player ran like a 4.29 40 or something like that. So that was something I liked seeing: people around my age who are really fast. It kind of gives me the drive to work harder to get to where they’re at. It was also nice, since I really enjoyed some of the drills we got to do, and I’ve been thinking about them.
How would you describe yourself as a leader to your teammates?
I like to think that a lot of the guys look up to me. I was a team captain at one of the games at nationals, and usually, they try to keep it to seniors and the quarterback just to give the seniors that experience, but I was able to have the spot at team captain when we went to Nationals, and also, I’ve taken some guys under my wing teach them stuff I knew. I know most practices, I try to be there about 1.5 to 2 hours before practice starts, and I would just work on my craft and stuff. One of my buddies from the team, who is a freshman, I saw a lot of potential in him, and a younger me in him. So, since he was also homeschooled, I invited him to come with me and practice, and I kind of helped him get right at receiver.
So you obviously want to play college football, right?
Yes sir.
Are there any specific schools you’re looking into, or anything like that?
I would definitely like to stay close to home, stay in Louisiana. It would also really help, because TOPS can be another option, especially if I don’t get a full-ride scholarship. And if I do, it is something I can use so I don’t have to go to work after practice, and spend more time getting closer to God, and get better at my craft. However, I’m also not closed to going out of state at all. I’m definitely exploring options for anyone who can help me a lot.
Wherever you end up going, why do you believe you will be effective there?
I’m not really limited to only receiver. I can definitely do a lot of work in the special team’s role as a returnee, and I still have a little bit of experience at DB, which could knock off some of the rust I could possibly have. But at the receiver position, I definitely think I can thrive the most because I have a great ability to get open, find open space, and really excel in yards after catch, whether it’s making moves to juke out a defender or simply outrunning them. That’s how I’ve gone with a lot of my arts this year.
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