CHAMPAIGN — Back to Pennsylvania, where classmates of T.J. Neal turned into drug dealers.
Back to Pennsylvania, where murders, robberies and dogfights were as common as the sun rising and setting on his hometown of McKeesport, a town of just under 20,000 outside of Pittsburgh that has seen better days.
Back to Pennsylvania, where Neal will start Saturday, most likely in front of a 100,000-plus crowd at Beaver Stadium, donning No. 52 for Illinois and seeking to stifle Penn State’s offense.
By the time the Illinois team flight is expected to land in State College early this evening, Neal’s journey from dealing with a broken femur his sophomore year in high school to struggling with his grades near the end of his recruitment is a figment of the past.