It was his punting that caught the eye of NFL scouts in high school. He set a Bison record, averaging 42 yards per kick, and that carried over to Montana where he earned all-Big Sky honors as a punter and earned academic honors three times.

Three NFL teams showed interest in Neil. Green Bay, Denver, and the Atlanta Falcons. 

After he went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft, Neil was signed by Atlanta. He played six games and dealt with injury problems his rookie season. In 2001, he was released and signed to the practice squad before being re-signed and placed on the regular season roster for the 2002 season.