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Dallas Neil

Answering the Call of Duty

If you asked Dallas Neil to perform any task for any football team, he inevitably answered the call of duty. When asked to run or pass the football for his high school program, Neil became an all-conference quarterback for Coach Dale Pohle’s Great Falls High Bison. He also earned all-league honors as a junior at linebacker, when Pohle needed help on defense since the Bison already had a standout, Rob Compson, at QB. When asked to perform quarterback duties for the East squad at the 1995 Montana Shrine Football Game, Dallas came through with flying colors, earning Most Valuable Player honors at his home field, Memorial Stadium in Great Falls. When asked to catch the football rather than throw it, Neil developed into a star tight end for the Montana Grizzlies from 1995 through 1999.

His ability to punt the football at the prep and collegiate level earned Neil a shot at the highest plateau of the sport, the National Football League. Fact is, Dallas Neil literally punted his way into the Montana Football Hall of Fame, which will induct him as a new member in June.

It was a talent that he discovered early in his life. “When I picked up a football in the third grade on the playground and kicked it, it was a perfect spiral,” Neil recalled. “It was truly a gift for me to punt the ball. It came so naturally, yet I cannot kick a field goal to save my life,” he added.

Neil also excelled as a student, which is probably why he learned so much from so many people and so many experiences along the way. While being named to All-State teams in high school in both football and basketball, he also was a four-time Academic All-State selection.

Read full bio on pages 39-40 in our 2023 Hall of Fame Ceremony Book (PDF).