Marcus Neal Jr.

Photo by: Jeff Spaur

Position:
Defensive Back
Height:
6-1
Weight:
215
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Kansas City, Mo.
High School:
Raytown South

Awards & Honors
All-Big 12 Third Team (2025)
All-Big 12 Third Team - Phil Steele (2025)
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 25, 2025)
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (F24, S25)

2025
Started all 12 games ... one of three defensive players to start all 12 games ... All-Big 12 Third Team ... tied with Kooper Ebel for the team lead with 77 tackles ... had a team-high 11 tackles for loss ... also had one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery ... finished season with three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries ... had nine tackles in wins over Iowa and BYU ... earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors in week zero win against Kansas State, finishing with eight tackles, including 1.5 for a loss ... had interceptions against Arizona State and Kansas ... also forced a fumble against the Sun Devils ... recovered a fumble and had two tackles for a loss against Oklahoma State ... announced he would transfer following season, ending his Cyclone playing days with 25 games played and 12 starts ... finished ISU career with 95 tackles, 12.0 for a loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

2024
Played in 13 games as a true freshman ... made 18 tackles and had one sack ... finished with two tackles, one sack and a forced fumble against Texas Tech ... made a season-high eight tackles against No. 15 Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

High School
Played at Raytown South High School for head coach William Harris … three-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports, On3 and Rivals … rated as the No. 19 player in Missouri by 247Sports Composite … 2023 MFCA 5A First Team All-State defensive back and Defensive Player of the Year … Suburban Blue Conference First Team All-Conference defensive back and wide receiver … Suburban Blue Conference Offensive Player of the Year … All-District 7 First Team selection … registered nearly 100 tackles and logged five interceptions in his senior season … posted over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage and tallied 11 receiving touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns … scored five touchdowns of 60-plus yards … helped the Cardinals to an 8-4 record and state playoff appearance in 2023 … picked Iowa State over Kansas State … also participated in track & field.

Personal
Open major.