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Catching up with former Beech, Gallatin athlete Guy Neal




Guy Neal, University of Kentucky.SUBMITTED

Guy Neal, University of Kentucky.SUBMITTED

An athlete playing three sports is less common in 2022, but in the era of classic cars and big hair, being a three-sport athlete was as normal as drinking a cold glass of sweet tea on a hot July day.

A gridiron standout who went on to play linebacker at the University of Kentucky, Guy Neal relished the opportunity to play other sports like baseball and basketball. He loved the competition and the camaraderie with his classmates.

As a sophomore at Gallatin, Neal played behind several talented defensive standouts but often took advantage of his opportunities between the white lines.

Against Hendersonville in 1979, Neal found himself in the right place at the right time and as a result, also in the TSSAA history book.

“Jeff Draper stuck the guy in the hole, and the ball bounced right into my arms,” Neal recalled. “I’m just a sophomore, so I’m a baby at this point. I remember listening to it on the radio the next day, and it sounded like it took me forever to get from one end of the field to the other.”

Guy Neal, Beech High School.SUBMITTED

Guy Neal, Beech High School.SUBMITTED

What ensued was a 94-yard touchdown return — a state record that sits ninth on the all-time TSSAA list for longest fumble return for a score.

Neal’s junior year in 1980 rolled around, and he still served as a backup linebacker for the Green Wave football team, but he knew once his senior season came, he would get his opportunity to start for the mighty Green Wave.

“Back then, Gallatin football was the Alabama of high school football,” Neal said. “From how they carried themselves to the practices they ran, the coaching staff treated Gallatin like it was an SEC program. Every player was good.”

At the conclusion of the 1980 football season, Neal turned his attention to the hardwood, where he played for TSSAA Hall of Fame coach Jerry Vradenburg for his first two years of high school.

“I was the first guy off the bench for Gallatin,” Neal recalled. “Vradenburg told me after practice one day I hadn’t progressed like I thought I should have and that I had been cut from the team. I turned in my uniform the following Monday. Basketball tipped the scales to leave Gallatin.”

Guy Neal, Gallatin Clinic Bowl vs Father Ryan.SUBMITTED

Guy Neal, Gallatin Clinic Bowl vs Father Ryan.SUBMITTED

Neal considered transferring to White House, but with his mom serving Beech as the first girls basketball coach, he felt the transition from Green Wave to Buccaneer would be easier.

“I knew some football coaches there; Merrol Hyde was the Principal — I had a lot of connections to Beech,” he said.

The transition from Gallatin to Beech at the start of the 1981 calendar year was an adjustment for Neal. The future Wildcat went from an established school and program at Gallatin to an upstart Sumner County high school with no history and little athletic success.

“We didn’t have a field so we would go down to Long Hollow Baptist Church and practice in those fields full of rocks,” Neal recalled. “It was an adjustment to go from a AAA powerhouse team to one that won one game their first year.”

Guy Neal (88) UK vs. UT in 1984.SUBMITTED

Guy Neal (88) UK vs. UT in 1984.SUBMITTED

Neal immediately moved into basketball role under legendary Beech head coach Boots Scoot before turning his attention to the diamond for the Bucs baseball team in 1981.

Neal’s only fall (1981) with the Bucs football team saw a 9-4 record and a trip to the third round of the Class AA playoffs. For his efforts that season, Neal was named an All-State linebacker and tight end.

His senior season featured many highlights, but none bigger than his 103-yard pick-six against Livingston Academy in the second round of the playoffs. At the time the return ranked second in state history.

“Their quarterback Danny McCoin was a heck of a quarterback, but I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Neal said. “I’ll never forget stiff-arming him around midfield to make it for the score.”

Despite his all-state selection and successful season, Neal was confident his college dreams would land him on a baseball diamond instead of a college football field.

“I had letters from Middle Tennessee and Georgia Tech, so I’m thinking I’m going to play college baseball,” Neal said.

Fate had other plans.

“Coach (Bob) Cummings, who was at Kentucky under Bear Bryant, reached out to Jerry Claiborne, who had just taken the head job at UK,” Neal said, “Claiborne was behind the eight ball in recruiting so they flew me up in a jet out of Gallatin and we had a great time that weekend. The following Sunday, Claiborne calls me in his office and offers me a scholarship on the spot. This is the SEC — I’m taking it.”

Neal would sign his National Letter of Intent with the University of Kentucky on March 25, 1982.

“My dad used to be a Tennessee fan, but he is all Kentucky now,” Neal said.

Neal wrapped his Beech high school career with a state baseball championship in the spring of 1982 and was the first player in school history with a division one football scholarship. He would later be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.

“As a player who was at the school less than two years, I’m very proud of that accomplishment,” he said.

As a player in Lexington, Neal enjoyed his most success in 1984, helping Kentucky to a 9-3 record and a 20-19 win over Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Classic.

Neal spent five seasons in Lexington before graduating in 1987.

“I was fired up to play in Neyland Stadium,” he said. “I remember sitting in the stands as a kid, so to be on the field, I was ready to go. As a young kid, I felt like I made it.”

Now 58, Neal works in the home mortgage business, where he has been for the past 13 years. You can find him at any Beech football game during the fall, but he does admit to keeping an eye on the Green Wave.

“I’ll pull for Gallatin minus one game,” he said.

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