EWU’s Aaron Neary refuses to be overlooked

Aaron Neary is getting noticed – again.

Most of the pro scouts who drop by Eastern Washington football practices are there to check on Neary, an All-American left guard with a high motor and high ambitions to play in the NFL.

“If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s not going to happen,” said Neary, who as a high schooler employed that same ambition to get noticed by Eastern Washington.

With his senior season at Hanford High wrecked by a foot injury that also hurt his scholarship chances, Neary staked it all on a whirlwind recruiting trip to Eastern in the winter of 2010-11.

Minutes after a Friday night basketball game, Neary and his family packed into their car and journeyed to Cheney. The moment of truth came in the office of coach Beau Baldwin, who began the conversation by saying that it was difficult to take a chance on a player who’d missed most of his senior year.

“I remember coach B saying those words and my mom tearing up,” Neary said.

The emotions swung the other way when Baldwin offered a partial scholarship. Someone had noticed – a credit to Neary’s athleticism and the Eagle coaches’ ability to spot another hidden gem.

A few hours later, the Neary clan drove back to Hanford for another basketball game, but life had changed. The Eagles he met on that short trip – Steve Forgette, Cody Humphrey, Branson Schmidt and Jordan Ellison – will be his friends for life.

“And it all came together because of football,” marvels Neary, who’d struggled for most of his life to get noticed.

His NFL ambitions were nurtured by his father Ron’s passion for the Green Bay Packers, but hampered by his small-town surroundings. Neary was born in Richland but lived in Desert Aire, just outside Mattawa, and played football and basketball for two years at Wahluke High.

“There wasn’t a lot to do,” Neary said.

His ambition led to a bold move: The family lived for a year and a half in a fifth-wheel trailer so he could be in the Richland School District and play at Hanford High.

It worked. After a stellar junior season playing on both sides of the ball, Neary was primed for a big senior year – until he broke his foot in the fourth game of the year, at Pasco.

From there, Neary’s football ambitions rested on what he’d done his junior year, part of his senior season, and the persuasiveness of Hanford coach Rob Oram.

“He must have said some crazy things to get coach Baldwin to get him to offer me,” said Neary, who had been contacted the previous year by EWU assistant Jeff Schmedding.

Said Neary, “I’m pretty sure they took a look at basketball and said, ‘Hey this guy’s a decent athlete with decent size, so let’s give him a shot.’ ”

Neary took a few shots in the fall of 2011, a season-long serving of “humble pie” as he spent a redshirt season trying to adapt to the college game.

“It was one of the hardest things ever,” said Neary, who came out of high school at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds. “In high school you’re killing kids because they’re tiny. But up here they’re big and athletic.”

Neary caught up in his redshirt sophomore year in 2013, although he moved inside and had to give up his aspirations of playing at tackle. The season-opening win at Oregon State was an adrenaline rush that had Neary telling himself, “I need more of this – that this is what I want to do.”

By that time, Neary had earned a full ride and became a fixture at left guard. The hard work was paying off. Looking back, Neary is especially proud to say that “I didn’t come in with a full ride – that I stuck with it and earned the full ride.”

People noticed. Three months later, after another record-setting year for the Eastern offense, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Neary was not only a first-team All-Big Sky Conference pick, but a second-team All-American, courtesy of Beyond Sports Network.

“I’m glad that everybody else saw what we saw,” Eastern offensive line coach Aaron Best said at the time. “He makes everyone else better, and he finishes plays more than most guys.”

Echoes center T.J. Boatright, “It’s like having a (security) blanket – he knows what he’s doing on every single play”

Neary repaid the compliment by crediting Best. “He’s 99 percent of the reason why I’m in this position,” Neary said. “He teaches this better than anyone.”

With a handful of games left, Neary can’t help but contemplate the future. He’s spoken to a “decent amount” of pro scouts in meetings that usually amount to a handshake and a few pleasantries.

“I can’t tell you how badly I want to get into the head of one of those guys and know what they’re thinking,” said Neary, who’s rated anywhere between 20th and 40th among guards in the early NFL draft assessments.

Yes, Aaron, they’ve noticed.