WILLIAMSBURG, Va (WAVY) — Lafayette High School Football is well-represented in this year’s NFL Draft. Former Marshall Defensive End Mike Green is a potential lottery pick in the 2025 draft, but his Rams teammate, Tyler Neville, has an inspirational journey to potentially hearing his name called too.
Neville didn’t pick up high school football until his Junior year, but excelled at it to the highest degree. Clearly. He was a prospect at Tight End almost out of the gate standing at 6’4 and having high-level hands. But before even getting to the field, Tyler was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 9th Grade.
After standing out on the high school scene, Neville started his collegiate playing career at Harvard, where he made muliple All-Ivy League Conference Teams, and even earned an FCS All-American selection by multiple outlets. Neville graduated from Harvard in only three years, and then played his final year of college ball with UVA, where he crossed the 1,000 career receiving yards threshold.
Now, as a projected 7th round pick by the New York Times, Neville tried to put it into words on what a moment like getting drafted into the NFL would mean to him.
“I mean yeah, there will probably be some tears shed. The whole 757 was so huge for me when I was going through treatments and medical hurdles. There’s still a lot more work to be done, but, it’s a recognition of the hurdles I’ve overcome and the hurdles this community has overcome for me,” said Neville.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 24
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