Idaho State Football

Idaho State cornerbacks coach DaVonte' Neal, a former 5-star recruit who played for Notre Dame and Arizona, has been arrested and charged with felony first-degree murder, per Greg Woods of the Idaho State Journal.

A Maricopa County, Arizona, grand jury indicted Neal on May 16 in response to an alleged shooting that occurred there on November 11, 2017.

Pocatello, Idaho, police arrested Neal on an extradition warrant from Maricopa County on May 25.

Neal has also been charged with one count of drive-by shooting and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure.

Idaho State has placed Neal on administrative leave, and the school plans to terminate his contract, per an email to the Idaho State Journal. The school also stated that a background check on Neal came back clean.

"Idaho State takes all allegations involving our employees very seriously, and we are committed to the safety and well-being of our community," school president Kevin Satterlee said in a written statement. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”

Neal came aboard as part of a new staff with head coach Charlie Ragle, who served as Cal's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach over the past five seasons before ISU hired him in December.

ISU athletic director Pauline Thiros released a statement on the situation to the Idaho State Journal via text:

I have been in constant contact with [ISU head coach Charlie Ragle] who has known Davonte' for many years and never had any knowledge or suspicion of a possible crime of any kind. The news of Davonte' Neal's arrest and charges in Arizona was a great shock. Going forward, we will cooperate in every way possible, safeguard our program and culture, support each other and our students, and allow the legal process to work. The news is devastating and we hope for resolution for all involved.

Per an ISU release announcing his hire on Jan. 10, Neal played at Notre Dame from 2012 to 2013 before transferring to Arizona (2014-16). He was a two-time Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2011 Parade All-American.

He's originally from Arizona and played for Nagle at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Neal and Nagle also crossed paths in college when the coach served as Arizona's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach from 2013 to 2016.

The Idaho State Bengals have not had a very good last decade of play in college football, to put it gently. Following an 8-4 season in 2003 (Jared Allen's last season playing for ISU), the Bengals have finished with a losing record in every season since. It hasn't even been close for the most part, with nine of those seasons resulting in the Bengals reaching only three or less wins.

Particularly disastrous was the four-season tenure of head coach John Zamberlin from 2007 to 2010. The team amassed an overall record of 6-39 and slid clear to the bottom of the FCS. There were few programs in all of Division I in worse condition.

Idaho State turned to head coach Mike Kramer in 2011 to try to rescue the dumpster fire of a program Zamberlin had left him. He slowly began to rebuild the program, starting to create a team that at least had a solid offense, even if it continued to have decidedly losing seasons.

This year, however, Kramer's efforts have started to come to fruition, as the Bengals had made it through eight weeks with a 5-3 record to show.

Now, the Bengals have assured themselves of their first non-losing season since 2003 with a 31-13 win over conference foe Portland State. That brings their record to 6-3 so far with only three games left.

Surprisingly, it was the defense that really came through for ISU. The offense still gained 430 yards overall, but their 31 points were the fewest they have scored against fellow FCS teams this season.

The ISU defense actually gave up 424 yards but more than made up for that by forcing an astounding six turnovers off of five interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Besides guaranteeing the team a record of at least .500 this season, the game was perhaps even more heartening for ISU fans in that it showed a Bengals team full of fight, mental toughness and resolve. Despite giving up over 400 yards and scoring the fewest points they have so far in FCS play this season, the team stayed tough and still won by three scores.

Perennial bottom dwellers don't have that fight and mental toughness, so the game serves as an emphatic reminder that the Bengals are not a pushover any longer and are now once again a program to be reckoned with.

The Bengals are also still in the race for the Big Sky title with a 4-1 record in conference play and two of their three remaining games coming against teams tied with or ahead of them in the conference standings. The other game is their season finale against Weber State, which is currently winless on the season. A winning record is a strong possibility for this ISU team, and the fact they are still in the Big Sky title chase speaks volumes about how far this program has progressed under Kramer.

While the Bengals' 31-13 win over Portland State may have not even shown up on the national college football radar this weekend, it is nonetheless one of the most significant games this week, as it firmly established that Idaho State is now once again a respectable program which has had arguably the biggest turnaround season in all of Division I football.

The Idaho State Bengals are a proud football program who have fallen on rough times, and have had difficulty escaping them. From 2007 to 2010, head coach John Zamberlin had arguably the worst head coaching tenure in school history, going just 6-39, a win percentage of .133.

That level of terrible is difficult to recover from, as current head coach Mike Kramer has discovered. While the Bengals have made some small steps forward under Kramer, they have still continued to struggle mightily.

In Kramer's first two seasons, the Bengals had won only three games, two of which were against Division II opponents. The lone win against an FCS opponent came against fellow Big Sky team Northern Colorado, a 50-20 victory at home in Pocatello on September 17, 2011.

Through five games this season, Idaho State was 2-3. While the two wins were once again earned against Division II opponents, the Bengals looked competitive in two of their losses (with one loss being a blowout against nationally ranked FBS team Washington).

The Bengals started off their FCS slate with a 30-13 loss against conference foe UC Davis. The game was actually quite close, with the score standing at 16-13 with four minutes left on the clock. 

One week later, the Bengals nearly got a conference win against North Dakota, but suffered a heartbreaking 28-25 loss that denied them their first Big Sky win in over two years.

So despite the obvious improvement this year, Idaho State came into the sixth game of the season, against Northern Colorado, still looking for that elusive victory that would break the over-two-year streak of not having any wins against conference teams (or FCS teams at all).

Well, the Bengals finally broke through, getting a 40-26 win at home against the Bears.

The offense ran like a well-oiled machine against Northern Colorado, racking up 532 yards.

QB Justin Arias continued to be prolific through the air in the Bengals' pass-heavy offensive system, going 28-of-41 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He also cut down on the interceptions that have plagued him this season. After throwing seven interceptions through the first five games, he didn't toss a single one against the Bears.

Arias had a good connection going with his top two receivers, as Luke Austin had 173 yards and three touchdowns while Cameron Richmond added 102 yards receiving.

Perhaps most importantly, running back Xavier Finney had the kind of standout rushing performance that has been missing in Pocatello for a long time. Finney carried 37 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, the best individual rushing performance by a Bengal since 2009.

At 3-3, Idaho State is off to their best start since 2005. The last time the Bengals won three games in a season was 2007, when they went 3-8. With six games remaining, they have a pretty good chance at surpassing that this season.

While the Idaho State Bengals may only be a .500 team right now, they are making huge strides forward for a team who has been one of the worst in the FCS for the last few seasons.

So while a 14-point win over a 1-6 team may not seem like that big of an accomplishment, for the Idaho State Bengals it is a big stepping stone on their journey back to success.

Kramer's squad has finally broken through.