Riley Neal

Photo by: Michael Hickey

Photo by: Ball State Football Video

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Photo by: Ricky Bassman

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Photo by: Justin Casterline

Photo by: Tim Cowie Photography

Photo by: Thom Baur Photography

2018 squad, portraits, players, coaches and staff.

Position:
Quarterback
Ht./Wt.:
6-6 / 225
Class:
Redshirt Junior
Hometown:
Yorktown, Ind.
Prev School:
Yorktown HS
High School:
Yorktown
Major:
Business Administration

Awards and Honors:
2016, 2018 Academic All-Mid-American Conference
2015 Ball State John Hodge Award (most valuable freshman)

2018 (R-Jr.): Started the first nine games at quarterback … suffered an injury at Ohio on Oct. 25 and missed the final three games of the season … ranked second in the MAC in total offense per game (252.7) and fourth in passing yards per game (213.0) … completed 76.7 percent of his passes (23-of-30) in the season opener against Central Connecticut, which was the second highest mark of his career … threw for a career-high 402 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the win over Kent State on Sept. 29 … surpassed 7,000 career passing yards at Central Michigan on Oct. 13 and leaves Ball State ranked third in school history at 7,393 yards … tallied a personal-high 24 carries and equaled a personal high with two touchdown runs in the win at CMU … Ball State went 3-1 when he recorded a passing and rushing touchdown in the same game.

2017 (Jr.): Started the first three games at quarterback before missing the rest of the season with an injury … completed better than 60 percent of his passes in all three games … led the team with six touchdown passes, including three in the win over Tennessee Tech on Sept. 16 … his completion rate of 74.2 percent against TTU was the third highest of his career … led the team to seven scores on 11 possessions in the win over UAB on Sept. 9 … finished the season with a completion percentage (67.7) that would have been the highest in the MAC.

2016 (So.): Played in and started 11 games at quarterback … missed the Nov. 1 game against No. 17 Western Michigan due to an injury … ranked third in the MAC in total offense with 280.1 yards per game … his 540 rushing yards were second most on the team and third most among all MAC quarterbacks … equaled a personal high with 393 passing yards against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 8 … rushed for career bests in back-to-back weeks to end the season – 85 yards at Toledo on Nov. 16 and 96 yards and a score at Miami on Nov. 22 … completed a personal-best 33 passes on 67.3 percent of his passing attempts at Toledo on Nov. 16 … accounted for all four Ball State touchdowns in the win at FAU on Sept. 24 (2 rushing, 2 passing) … scored the winning touchdown at FAU, a 2-yard run, with 1:47 left in the game … completed his first 16 pass attempts in the win over Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 17 … his personal-best rush of 46 yards in the fourth quarter at Georgia State in the opener led to a Ball State touchdown.

2015 (Fr.): Played in 11 games and started the final nine games at quarterback … first collegiate start came at No. 17 Northwestern on Sept. 26 … threw for 2,276 yards, the sixth most by a true freshman at the FBS level in 2015 … only Josh Rosen of UCLA (3,670 yards), Tanner Mangum of BYU (3,377), Brett Rypien of Boise State (3,353), Jake Browning of Washington (2,955) and Chase Litton of Marshall (2,605) threw for more yards in their first season as a collegiate player … began his career with 143 consecutive passes without an interception … also ranked third on the team with 399 rushing yards and two scores … completed 24-of-28 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown in relief at Eastern Michigan on Sept. 19 … his pass completion percentage (85.7) at EMU was the fourth highest in program history … tallied a 41-yard broken play touchdown run at Eastern Michigan … led the team in both rushing (74 yards) and passing (178) at Northwestern on Sept. 26 … set season highs in completions (31), attempts (53), passing yards (393) and touchdowns (4) at Northern Illinois on Oct. 10 … threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 62 yards and another score at Ohio on Nov. 17.

HIGH SCHOOL: Earned three letters in football for coach Mike Wilhelm at Yorktown High … helped team to an 11-2 record as a senior and a 27-9 mark in career … helped the Tigers to their first 11-win season in school history as a senior … helped Yorktown to a sectional title as a senior and a 6-1 record in the Hoosier Heritage Conference … team captain as a senior … three-time all-conference … Indiana Football Coaches Association and Associated Press all-state as a senior … named to the 2014 All-USA Today Indiana Team … passed for 2,900 yards and 29 touchdowns plus rushed for 1,351 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior … compiled 4,239 total yards with 56 total touchdowns as a senior … set school records in a single game for passing yards (375 in 2013), completions (30 in 2013 & 2014), passes attempted (49 in 2014) and touchdown passes (5, 4 times) … set school single season records for passing yards (2,888), completions (233) and passing attempts (376) as a senior plus for passing touchdowns (35) as a junior … set Yorktown career records for passing yards (7,285), completions (564), pass attempts (930), completion percentage (60.6) and passing touchdowns (78).

PERSONAL: Son of Jesse and Shawn Neal … father played football at Ball State … uncle, Jay Neal, played football at Ball State … one brother and one sister … earned his Ball State bachelor’s degree following the 2018 fall semester with a 3.480 GPA … born Oct. 2, 1996, in Muncie, Indiana … full name is Riley Joseph Neal.