Indiana Hoosiers land commitment from Lemuel Neely-Watley

Indiana football may be starting to build a pipeline to southeast Michigan after grabbing its second commitment from the region in the 2020 class. Harper Woods (Mich.) three-star athlete Lemuel Neely-Watley announced his commitment to the Hoosiers on Sunday following an official visit to Bloomington this weekend.

MEET THE NEW HOOSIERS: Gary Cooper | Jeramy Passmoore | C.J. Person | Tiawan Mullen

THE LATEST

Neely-Watley is a prospect who has been on the recruiting radar since early in his sophomore year, but the buzz had dropped off in the months following junior season. Part of that may have been a change of schools, but that interest picked back up when the Spring Evaluation Period opened in April and Neely-Watley landed several new offers. Indiana was the first school to offer Neely-Watley back in December of 2017. His official visit to Indiana was the first of the process, and ultimately was the only one the three-star athlete needed.

IN HIS WORDS

“It felt like the best fit for me and my family. The coaches are great people and IU is the place to be right now.”

RIVALS’ REACTION

When Neely-Watley’s recruitment began he was primarily viewed as a wide receiver prospect. As his game developed, however, Neely-Watley started to develop more as a defensive back and that is the position Indiana is bring him in for. Indiana’s first Detroit-area commitment in this 2020 class was Rivals100 wide receiver Rashawn Williams, and Neely-Watley was a teammate of Williams’ last season at Detroit King. Even though Neely-Watley is at Harper Woods High School now, that relationship undoubtedly played a part in this commitment for the Hoosiers.