Former Eastern Washington University All-America offensive linemen Clay DeBord and Aaron Neary will join National Football League teams as undrafted free agents following the conclusion of the NFL Draft on Saturday (April 30).
 
DeBord, a 2011 graduate of Asotin (Wash.) High School will sign with the Arizona Cardinals, while Neary will play for the defending Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos. Neary is a 2011 graduate of Hanford High School in Richland, Wash.
 
Both were first team All-Big Sky Conference performers for the Eagles this past season, with DeBord earning All-America honors as a senior in 2015 and Neary earning All-America honors as both a senior in 2015 and junior in 2014.
 
The Eagles have now had 24 offensive linemen earn All-America accolades in the last 23 years (1993-2015) while winning 26 first team All-Big Sky Conference honors (1993-2015). In 2014, Neary joined tackle Jake Rodgers as All-America and first team All-Big Sky selections. Rodgers is now with the New York Giants of the National Football League after getting drafted in the seventh round (225^th pick overall) by the Atlanta Falcons.
 
• A total of 79 Eagles have now been drafted or signed free agent contracts with NFL or CFL teams since 1989. Seven Eagles have been selected to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine in the past 12 years (2003-2014), with 11 selected to play in eight different college all-star games. Most recently, both Aaron Neary and Clay DeBord played in the National Football League Players Association Collegiate Bowl. One year prior, safety Tevin McDonald played in the 2015 East-West Shrine Game, and offensive tackle Jake Rodgers played in the NFLPA Game. In 2013, T.J. Lee III played in the NFLPA game, and Bo Levi Mitchell played in the same game in 2012. Wide receiver Brandon Kaufman was selected to participate in the prestigious NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 20-26, 2013, in Indianapolis, Ind. In addition, fellow wide receiver Nicholas Edwards played in the 2013 Casino Del Sol College All-Star Game in Tucson, Ariz. Nathan Overbay and Matt Nichols were selected for the 2010 East-West Shrine Game, the same game Michael Roos played in back in 2005.
 
 

#78 Clay DeBord

OL, 6-6, 305, Sr., Asotin, Wash.
 
Career: Starting every game he played, DeBord started a school-record 51 games as an Eagle. He missed one game in 2015 because of a concussion and two others because of ankle sprains. DeBord was among a group of 14 Eagle seniors who were a part of three Big Sky Conference championships and a trio of playoff berths. Eastern won 27 of 32 Big Sky Conference games and 40 games overall in the last four years.
 
2015: Capped his career by playing in the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 23 in Carson, Calif. He was selected to four FCS All-America teams at the conclusion of the season, including first-team honors from STATS, Associated Press and College Sporting News (Fabulous Fifty). He was also a second team All-America choice by College Sports Madness. He earned first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors for the first time in his career after started all 10 of the games he played. He helped Eastern rank eighth in FCS in total offense with an average of 478.5 yards per game, including the nation's top passing offense (353.3 per game). Eastern was also 19th in scoring offense (34.6). Eastern had two of the top six performances for total offense in school history in 2015, including 667 against Montana State to rank fourth. Was a first team selection on the STATS preseason FCS All-America team.
 
2014: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors after starting all 14 Eastern games at left offensive tackle. He also earned second team all-league accolades from College Sports Madness. He and left guard Aaron Neary were the team's co-offensive players of the week after helping EWU rush for 224 yards and finish with 582 total yards in a 52-51 win at Montana State (9/20/14). He helped lead Eastern's offense to new heights in 2014, especially on the scoreboard. For the first time in school history, Eastern scored at least 50 points in six games, including outings of 56, 54, 52, 52, 56 and 56. The Eagles were first in FCS in scoring offense (44.1 per game) and first downs (361 total), second in passing efficiency (163.52), third in total offense (513.4) and second in passing offense (328.2). Eastern's red zone offense was second in FCS, scoring 94.9 percent of the time. Was given third team preseason All-America honors from The Sports Network. College Sports Madness named him as a second team preseason All-America selection and a first team preseason All-Big Sky pick. He was one six Eagles selected to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team as selected by a panel of the league's media representatives. Beyond Sports Network selected him to its preseason All-Big Sky Conference team.
 
2013: Earned second team All-Big Sky honors. Started 14 games at left offensive tackle but missed the Idaho State game (11/2/13) with an ankle injury. DeBord earned team offensive player of the week honors following EWU's 41-19 romp over Weber State (10/5/13) which featured 493 yards of offense, including 279 rushing. He helped Eastern set Big Sky and school records with 592 points, 83 touchdowns and 8,002 yards of offense in the 2013 season. As a team, EWU led FCS in passing efficiency (school record 182.6), and was fourth in total offense (533.5 per game), fourth in passing (349.8), 41st in rushing (183.7) and seventh in scoring (39.5). Eastern's offensive line was selected as the FCS Offensive Line of the Week by Beyond Sports Network twice during the season. The first time came when EWU had 625 yards of offense in a 49-46 upset of 25th-ranked Oregon State (8/31/13) to open the season. The second time came in a 55-34 win at Idaho State (11/2/13) when the Eagles finished with a school record 743 yards of offense.
 
2012: Started 13 games at left offensive tackle and missed the Sacramento State (10/20/12) game with an ankle injury. He made his starting debut against Idaho (8/30/12). He helped EWU rank seventh in the FCS in passing yards per game (318.9), 14th overall in total offense (442.0) and 17th in scoring (33.7).
 
2011: Redshirted.
 
HS: Graduated from Asotin HS in 2011. Earned All-Southeast 2B League honors as a senior as he helped lead Asotin to a 3-2 league record and 5-3 overall mark. As a junior, Asotin finished 5-1 in the league and 8-1 overall.
 
Personal: Technology major. Born 5/13/92 in Lewiston, Idaho. His parents are Levinn DeBord and Martha MacNeil. Name is pronounced "duh-board."
 

#72 Aaron Neary

OL, 6-4, 300, Sr., Richland, Wash.
 
Career: Ended his career by starting 24 of the 46 games he played. Neary was among a group of 14 Eagle seniors who were a part of three Big Sky Conference championships and a trio of playoff berths. Eastern won 27 of 32 Big Sky Conference games and 40 games overall in the last four years.
 
2015: Capped his career by playing in the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 23 in Carson, Calif. He was selected to three FCS All-America teams at the conclusion of the season, including second-team honors from Associated Press and College Sports Madness. He earned honorable mention All-America accolades from College Sporting News. He earned first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors for the second-straight season, and also earned his first Big Sky All-Academic award. He was also the school's November Scholar-Athlete of the Month. He started all 11 Eastern games at left guard, but also saw action as a center and at tackle. He helped Eastern rank eighth in FCS in total offense with an average of 478.5 yards per game, including the nation's top passing offense (353.3 per game). Eastern was also 19th in scoring offense (34.6). Eastern had two of the top six performances for total offense in school history in 2015, including 667 against Montana State to rank fourth. Was a second team selection on the STATS preseason FCS All-America team.
 
2014: He earned second team All-America honors from Beyond Sports Network and was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection. He also earned third team all-league honors from College Sports Madness. Neary started 13 of EWU's 14 games in the 2014 season, missing the FCS Playoff game against Montana (2/6/14) with a knee injury. He made the first start of his career in EWU's season opener on ESPN against Sam Houston State (8/23/14). Neary and left tackle Clay DeBord were the team's co-offensive players of the week after helping EWU rush for 224 yards and finish with 582 total yards in a 52-51 win at Montana State (9/20/14). He helped lead Eastern's offense to new heights in 2014, especially on the scoreboard. For the first time in school history, Eastern scored at least 50 points in six games, including outings of 56, 54, 52, 52, 56 and 56. Only once previously in school history – 105 previous years – has EWU scored 50 or more three times. The Eagles were first in FCS in scoring offense (44.1 per game) and first downs (361 total), second in passing efficiency (163.52), third in total offense (513.4) and second in passing offense (328.2). Eastern converted 48.0 percent of the time on third down (97-of-202) to rank eighth, down from a high of second earlier in the year. Eastern's red zone offense was second in FCS, scoring 94.9 percent of the time. In the offseason, he and 23 other players and staff helped raise $3,100 for Special Olympics Washington as part of the "Polar Plunge" in nearby Liberty Lake on Feb. 22, 2014. The group's efforts were led by Neary, the secretary of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at EWU.
 
2013: Played in all 15 games and shared the right offensive guard position with starter Brandon Murphy. He helped Eastern set Big Sky and school records with 592 points, 83 touchdowns and 8,002 yards of offense in the 2013 season. As a team, EWU led FCS in passing efficiency (school record 182.6), and was fourth in total offense (533.5 per game), fourth in passing (349.8), 41st in rushing (183.7) and seventh in scoring (39.5). Eastern's offensive line was selected as the FCS Offensive Line of the Week by Beyond Sports Network twice during the season. The first time came when EWU had 625 yards of offense in a 49-46 upset of 25th-ranked Oregon State (8/31/13) to open the season. The second time came in a 55-34 win at Idaho State (11/2/13) when the Eagles finished with a school record 743 yards of offense.
 
2012: He helped EWU rank seventh in the FCS in passing yards per game (318.9), 14th overall in total offense (442.0) and 17th in scoring (33.7). He also played occasionally as a fullback.
 
2011: Redshirted. Was selected as the team's offensive scout team player of the week once.
 
HS: Graduated from Hanford HS in 2011. He missed most of his senior season in 2010 with a broken foot. As a junior, he was a second team selection as both an offensive and defensive lineman on the All-3A/4A Big Nine Cascade Division Football Team. Neary was a three sport athlete, having also participated in basketball and track and field. He averaged 13.0 points a game as a senior to earn first team all-league honors.
 
Personal: Social studies education major. Born 11/15/92 in Richland, Wash. Will turn 23 the day after EWU plays at Montana. His parents are Ron and LeeAnn Neary.