Curtis McNeal (born December 3, 1989) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

running back. McNeal signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

as an undrafted rookie free agent, after playing collegiately for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. He signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) on May 7, 2014.

Early life

McNeal was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended Venice High School in Los Angeles and graduated in 2008. As a junior in 2006, he made Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass second-team and All-L.A. City first-team while running for 2,008 yards with 42 touchdowns and getting 3,106 all-purpose yards. In his career, he ran for more than 4,000 yards. His 2007 honors included Super Prep All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West Best of the Rest, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Cal-Hi Sports All-State second-team and All-L.A. He was named City Offensive MVP as a senior running back and defensive back at Venice High. As a senior, McNeal ran for 1,400 yards on 136 carries (10.3 avg.) with 19 touchdowns, added 278 receiving yards and scored touchdowns by rushing and receiving, as well as an interception and punt return.

College career

In 2008 McNeal accepted an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to attend the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and play for the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team. McNeal redshirted as a freshman tailback in 2008, his first year at USC, then saw limited action at tailback as a redshirt freshman in 2009, when he was primarily used as a returner and on special teams, and missed the 2010 season after being declared academically ineligible as a sophomore. McNeal broke out as a junior in 2011 with 145 carries for a team-best 1,005 yards (6.9 avg.) and 6 touchdowns. McNeal came off the bench at Notre Dame in 2011 and had a game-high and then-career-best 118 yards on 24 carries (he also caught a 4-yard pass). He had a then-career-high and game-best 145 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns (61 and 25 yards) off the bench against Stanford. At Colorado, he got his first career start and had 87 yards on 10 carries. Against Washington, he ran for a career-best 148 yards on 18 carries, including a 79-yard touchdown burst (USC's longest run since Reggie Bush's 81-yard touchdown run at UCLA in 2004) to earn USC's "Jack Oakie Rise and Shine Award." He had a team-best 94 yards on 20 carries at Oregon and then a game-best 124 yards on 12 carries with a 73-yard touchdown run against UCLA. He became USC's 27th 1,000-yard rusher in a season. His 6.9-yard average per carry was the best by a Trojan with at least 10 carries per game since

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

's 8.7 in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Professional career

McNeal signed with the

after being undrafted in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. On August 7, 2013, McNeal was waived/injured by the Steelers. On August 8, 2013, he cleared waivers and was placed on the injured reserve list. On August 16, 2013, he was waived with an injury settlement.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcneal, Curtis 1989 births Living people American football running backs Players of American football from Los Angeles USC Trojans football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles