INDIANAPOLIS — The first time Evan Neal saw Daniel Faalele, Neal was confused.
“I saw him on the field with the coaches and was like, ‘What NFL team do you play for?’ ” said Neal, the Alabama left tackle whom USA TODAY Sports projects as the 2022 top overall draft selection.
Then the 6-7, 337-pound Neal uttered words he rarely can: “He’s huge.”
Faalele was 16 years old.
The phenomenon repeated two years later when the 6-8, 426-pound Faalele enrolled at Minnesota. In football team workouts, otherwise larger-than-life men were wowed.
“We were working out together and he was doing everything we were doing, except he was 100 pounds more,” fellow Minnesota offensive lineman Blaise Andries told USA TODAY Sports. “We were like, ‘OK this guy is very athletic. Lose a few (pounds) because just lose a few – but very athletic.’ “
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Faalele has since trimmed to 385 pounds but still rests in record-setting realm. As the 2022…