Growing up in Dallas, many young football players dream of one day playing with The Dallas Cowboys. They dream of playing on the same team that Deion Sanders once played on, in the billion dollar stadium built by Jerry Jones. Over the summer, former Marauder Jason Neill had the chance to to live out this dream.
Jason’s voice was filled with excitement when he called his dad in May. As Jason told his father Jeff Neill that he would soon be a Dallas Cowboy, he was flooded with emotion. Jeff said he was both proud and overjoyed for his son.
“I sat there and yelled ‘Praise God. Hallelujah,’” Jeff said.
On NFL draft day Jason waited. He waited through all seven long rounds. Waiting for a call, waiting for his childhood dream to come true. The announcer called the last name to be drafted and Jason realized his name had not been mentioned.
Instead of giving up, he tried the home team. Jason found out the Dallas Cowboys were having a rookie minicamp so scouts could take a closer look at the players who weren’t drafted.
Practices with the Cowboys were harder than Jason had thought they would be. It moved at a fast pace because everyone wanted to prove that they deserved a spot on the team. Spending days in the Texas heat was also brutal. Jason said it was like working a 9-5 job outdoors.
“You wake up in the morning, you do what you’re told, go home, wake up the next day and repeat it,” Jason said.
The Road Runners football team played their first game in 2011.
During the workouts, Jason was surprised by how many of the players he didn’t recognize. He watched football all the time growing up, but when he saw players only three lockers down he had no clue who was who. Seeing the professionals up close made the NFL slowly become a reality.
“At first it was weird being around all the professional players. But after a couple of days they became real people not just celebrities,” Jason said.
Being around veteran players not only taught Jason what to do when playing, but what to do when he isn’t playing. They taught all the rookies that if they want to stay in the NFL they have to be responsible for their actions on the field as well as off the field.
But soon his experience with them would come to an end.
Jason was sat down in Dallas Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett’s office before practice and received the news he wouldn’t be a Dallas Cowboy after all. After his talk with the coach, Jason packed all his stuff up and went home, conflicted about what his next move would be.
“My first thought was ‘Wow is this really it? Is it all over now?’” Jason said.
His family was hoping to get the phone call saying they would be watching him play in a Dallas jersey with his name on the back, but instead they received the phone call that broke their hearts.
“It was devastating and as a father, my instinct was to protect him, but there wasn’t anything I could do but encourage him,” Jeff said.
His brother, David Neill, was also disappointed. David was a Marauder football player and went on play college football at Texas Tech. He is currently the strength and conditioning coach at UT and has been a support to his brother. David had no doubt that Jason would get back up on his feet. He spent time working out with Jason to keep him motivated and focused on his dream.
“I want him to play to his best potential that I know he can play to. I am so proud of him,” David said.
So Jason went back to working out and staying in shape to be ready for the next call.
In August, his agent called and told him to pack a bag because he was boarding a plane to Cleveland at 5 p.m. His dream was still alive. Jason would have a chance to play with the Browns.
But again, there would be a fight to earn a position on this team. For him the Browns were what felt like his last chance to play football, so he was willing to again learn a new position.While trying to keep up with the other players, he felt unsure about what the future held.
After four weeks practicing with the Browns, he was let go again. His father, Jeff said that he was devastated when Jason was dropped.
In early September, Jason came back to work with the Marauder football team. Not only did he help the boys, he also worked out with them to keep in shape. During his time here he began to consider becoming a football coach or a strength and conditioning coach like his brother.
Although Jason’s dream seemed like it was over, on Sept. 21 Jason got another call from his agent. They were trying to figure out what to do about his career,and the topic of playing football in Canada came up. After putting some thought into it and with the support of his family Jason made his decision. He would be leaving for Canada to play for the Calgary Stampeders.
In 71 years as a team, The Stampeders have won seven grey cups, or the equivalent to seven Super Bowls.
“It’s weird to think about living in a new country, but I’d go anywhere to keep playing,” Jason said.
