Connor Neighbors is an Enforcer on Offense
Being raised in a family with a historic football background, it would be safe to assume that Connor Neighbors was destined to play football. So it was odd when the Huntsville, Ala., native decided that football wasn’t going to be his primary choice growing up. At first, he chose hockey.
“I started when I was in kindergarten and I just loved it,” said Neighbors. “I loved the physicality. I was a real good skater, but I didn’t learn how to stop until about four years in. I used to just run into the boards.”
Neighbors didn’t start playing football until the fifth grade. His first passion was hockey, but his dad didn’t want him going off to play. “I probably would have gone and played for a boarding school if I didn’t live in the South. My dad didn’t want me to leave. He never would have seen me grow up, in a sense.”
Neighbors decided to concentrate his efforts on football. He played linebacker during high school and was aided by tutelage from his dad and grandfather, who both have a rich history with the Alabama football program. His father, Wes, played center and his grandfather, Billy, is in the College Football Hall of Fame. His brother, Wesley, was a former player and is now a coach on Nick Saban’s staff.
However, there was no question as to where Neighbors wanted to play football.
“I didn’t get any scholarship offers coming out of high school. People were leaning on the fence (about taking me),” said Neighbors. “I chose LSU because Coach (John) Chavis called me and he was really the only coach that ever called. He told me he could help me reach my dreams and my goals if I came here. I was set; I wanted to make my own path.”
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Neighbors walked on as a linebacker, but quickly realized that he had another calling. “The starting fullback left the team my second month here. I had a meeting with Coach (Les) Miles and Coach Chavis about a month before camp started. Because I was a walk-on and had no prior commitment to the defense, I was just a good candidate and really it worked out for the best,” explained Neighbors. However, the transition from linebacker to fullback was not an easy one.
“The hardest part about the position was the transition to blocking and knowing how the offense works. You have to be physical, so coming back to my hockey days, I knew that I could be a pretty dominant person going into the hole and hitting people,” said Neighbors.
Neighbors redshirted his freshmen year in 2010 and slowly started to work his way up the depth chart. In 2013, he split time with fullback J.C. Copeland and gained the starting role midway through the season. He has become one of the leaders for the offense, and many players look up to him and respect his role with the team.
“He’s probably the most selfless guy on the team. He goes up in the trenches with those big guys and gives his body up for us to lead us to daylight,” said LSU running back Terrence Magee. “He stays fired up. He’s always ready to hit someone.”
“A lot of people overlook Connor, but a lot of the things on offense happen because of Connor. ‘Bone Saw’ is what we call him because he’s always laying people out,” said wide receiver John Diarse.
As the starting fullback, Neighbors also realizes that he has a responsibility to help his teammates and younger players learn the game.
“You have to get reps. That’s what I tell (sophomore fullback) Melvin (Jones) and that (what we do) it’s not easy; this is hard,” said Neighbors. “The more game reps you get is when you get better and this is when you fine-tune how you play.”
Neighbors’ role on offense is crucial to the team. However, it is easy to overlook his position and not give him the full credit he deserves. “Sometimes I get jealous,” Neighbors said, “but I quickly brush those feelings to the side. It’s not about me; it’s about us. As long as the person behind me scores, I could care less.”
“He’s pretty much our enforcer. If we can’t get to a block, we can rely on him coming in and cleaning up for us,” said offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins. “He’s like a Smash Brother trying to come in and wreck everything.”
Neighbors is entering his final year with the team. But when it’s all said and done, he wants to leave part of his legacy not just at LSU, but also for other players around the country.
“I want all the people that said I couldn’t do it and that it couldn’t be done, that hey I did it and I did it my way,” said Neighbors. “I want people who are on the fence about walking on or don’t know if they’re good enough to follow your dreams. Chase it, because you have to make it happen and you can’t listen to anyone else.”