By BOB WIENEKE South Bend Tribune Staff Writer WSBT-TV

10:43 p.m. EST, February 21, 2012
When pressed to use one word to describe Davonte' Neal's college
announcement on Tuesday, "strange" comes to mind.

Coerced into using two words, however, at least from Notre Dame's
perspective, "happy ending" seems appropriate.

Neal, a gifted athlete who likely projects as a slot wide receiver for
the Irish, on Tuesday became the 17th member of ND's recruiting class
of 2012. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Neal, a senior at Chaparral High
School in Scottsdale, Ariz., picked ND 20 days after National Signing
Day over Arizona, Arkansas and North Carolina.

But it wasn't without drama. Lots of drama.

Neal's announcement, scheduled to take place at his former elementary
school, was to be in front of approximately 600 students and an
Internet audience that was watching a live local broadcast. All
indications were that Notre Dame was going to be the choice.

The only problem was, there was no Neal. Instead, viewers watched
children play xylophones.

Neal, according to the Arizona Republic, said a family situation
arose, which prevented him from making the announcement at the
scheduled time.