With Daquan Neal back from NFL tryout and 'D' showing signs of life, Sugar Skulls like their chances

Following Saturday’s loss to the Northern Arizona Wranglers, one question loomed over the Tucson Sugar Skulls: Will Daquan Neal return?

Neal, Tucson’s star quarterback and IFL passing yards leader, missed the Sugar Skulls’ 36-21 defeat in Prescott because he was trying out for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

There’s good news for Tucson: Neal returned to the team on Monday and will start at quarterback this weekend, when the Sugar Skulls (4-4) take on the Strike Force (2-6) in San Diego. Tucson’s offense struggled with backup Gabriel Cunningham in charge against Northern Arizona: He completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards and was intercepted once.

Saturday’s game marked the first time this season the Sugar Skulls failed to score more than 30 points in a game, and their first game of the season without a passing touchdown.

“It’s tough to replace him. He’s the MVP for a reason,” Dixie Wooten, the Sugar Skulls’ coach and general manager, said of Neal. “He got a tryout with the Colts for a reason. When we see him under center, we know that we can score anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”

However, Wooten added, “We shouldn’t fall off that much because of one player.”

“The quarterback is the most important player in the building, but everybody has practiced, so at the end of the day, we lost,” Wooten said. “I told those guys that we have to fix a lot of things going into this game against San Diego. The guys came in and were upbeat, focused and they had everything ready to go.”

Naturally, Neal’s Tucson teammates wanted to know all about his weekend stint with the Colts. The Skulls’ QB flew into Indianapolis the night before his tryout, passed a physical and received what he called the “first set of installs” — a 40-play playbook that he had to learn overnight.

“I didn’t really get any sleep at all,” Neal said. “I stayed up all night trying to cram that stuff into my brain. … It was definitely tough learning as many plays in a short amount of time, but at that level, that’s what you have to do to be great.”

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It was the first-ever NFL tryout for the Franklinton, North Carolina, native and Elizabeth City State product. He called it “a great experience.”

“Being around those types of guys just changed my mentality approaching the game,” he said. “I was already dominant in the IFL, but since going there, it gave me another boost of confidence. …

“It’s like a dream come true. When you’re a little kid, you start to play football and then the older you get, the more you take it seriously. Having an opportunity to play football as a job is definitely an exciting thing. Being able to get into the door and see that I belong, competing with the best players in the NFL, it was definitely an out-of-body experience.”

Neal said NFL players have “a different type of mentality,” starting with their preparation.

“They study a lot, and there’s a difference between the IFL and NFL with the IQ of players when it comes to football,” Neal said. “At that level, everyone has the same athletic ability, but what separates you at that level is the IQ. It’s a part of the game, so I let my teammates know, ‘If you guys want to get there, you have to be able to play smart and fast.’ Just going in there and seeing everyone flying around at full speed just lets you know guys really understand the game.”

The Sugar Skulls were able to take some positives out of their most recent loss. Their defense gave up just nine first-half points against Northern Arizona, a significant jump for a unit that’s struggled all season. Despite last week’s improvements, however, the team still ranks last in the IFL in total defense, allowing 241.9 yards per game.

The Sugar Skulls also rank last in the 14-team IFL with two interceptions; just one team in the league — the Strike Force — has a worse red-zone defense. The club is allowing more than 6 yards per play, though last week was a step in the right direction: Northern Arizona put up just 182 yards, and averaged 4.9 yards per play.

“As long as the defense keeps improving and the offense does what we do, then the sky’s the limit for us. … Ever since we had that slow start at the beginning of the season, we’ve been improving every week,” Neal said. “I don’t see any reason why we should take a step back.

Added Wooten: “With Daquan back and our defense playing like it is, I think we have a good chance of winning big this week.”