Michael Neel top running back candidate for Dayton Flyers to fill shoes of Jake Chisholm

The first time Dayton Flyers football coach Trevor Andrews met with Michael Neel, he told him, “You get to be the guy now and show everybody what you can do.”

Neel, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound running back from Charlotte, N.C., backed up Jake Chisholm, one of the most productive players in school history, the last two years. Chisholm was a fifth-year senior last year. Neel graduated in the spring with a degree in business economics and will spend his fifth year with the team this fall, though like Chisholm, he was on the roster when the season was canceled because of the pandemic in 2020.

Neel has appeared in 17 games and carried the ball 59 times for 283 yards and scored five touchdowns in his career, but this will be his first chance to play a prominent role in the offense.

“There are definitely big shoes to fill,” Neel said Sunday during the team’s annual Media Day at Welcome Stadium. “Just go out there and play the game. I know the cues and the reads and stuff. It’s just going out there and executing and trying to continue that legacy. We’ve had a great line of running backs here. Now I’ve got my chance to show what I can do and be part of that legacy.”

Chisholm led the Pioneer Football League with 1,064 rushing yards last season. He finished his college career as UD’s all-time record holder in all-purpose yardage (5,063 yards). He ranks second in career touchdowns (47) and third in rushing (3,276 yards).

“He was a great player,” Neel said. “It was fun to watch him and awesome being teammates with him and learning from him and seeing how he sees the field and sees the game develop. It was a great experience. We had a great relationship.”

Andrews knows Chisholm is not a player he can replace easily.

“We had some great offensive linemen in front of him, too, that have moved on,” Andrews said, “but I’ve been happy with the way (the running backs) have been competing. You’ve got you got a number of guys that can get in there and get us good chunks and positive yards. We’re not going to just settle on one of them.”

Neel, one of 35 players in the 2019 recruiting class, played on two state championship teams at Charlotte Catholic. In his high school career, he ran for 2,177 yards. He also finished his career with 1,314 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns (rushing and receiving).

Dayton’s other top returning running back is redshirt sophomore Ty Stylski, of Kings High School in Mason. He carried 23 times for 72 yards last year. He was in the mix in the spring until suffering an injury, running backs coach Mark Ewald said. He’s close to returning.

Neel has also been “dinged up” in the preseason, Ewald said, but should be fine.

“He’s been really leading well and coaching up the other guys,” Ewald said.

Redshirt junior Logan Davis, of Prospect, Ky., and junior John Sciarretti, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, will compete for playing time, Ewald said, as will freshmen Luke Hansen, of Indianapolis, and Mason Hackett, of Granville.

“It’s a selfless group,” Ewald said. “They all want the ball. I get it. But we’ll share it this year probably a little bit more.”