Live Oak grads Neufeld, Ulbrich to square off in Bills-49ers
matchup on Sunday at Monster Park
Could there be a better late Christmas present for local football fans than Sunday’s NFL game between Buffalo and San Francisco at Monster Park?
No, it’s not the matchup between the suddenly resurgent Bills and the struggling 49ers that’s the attraction.
It’s the showdown for Morgan Hill bragging rights between former Live Oak High standouts Ryan Neufeld, the Bills’ starting tight end, and Jeff Ulbrich, a starting linebacker for the 49ers. In fact, Neufeld and Ulbrich, off-season friends who played together on the 1994 Live Oak football team that fell just short of winning a Central Coast Section title, will be literally matched up against each other for much of Sunday’s 1pm game.
Former Live Oak coach Norm Dow, who coached the two players on the 1994 squad, said he’ll be glued to his TV set for the contest.
“Unless you’re a coach at Notre Dame, to have two (former) players playing against each other in the NFL is incredible,” Dow said. “Those are two of my favorites. They both had great attitudes. They’re great guys. They’re both the type of guys you’d want your daughter to marry as the saying goes.”
Neufeld, 29, and Ulbrich, 28, stayed in touch after leaving Live Oak for college, the former played at UCLA and the latter at Gavilan and Hawaii, and when they reached the pros. And, they both said they’re good friends who see each other regularly in Morgan Hill., where Ulbrich lives and Neufeld’s dad and mom reside.
But their friendship will have to be put on hold for Sunday’s clash.
According to Ulbrich, he will be largely responsible for covering the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Neufeld on pass plays, and the two will also likely tangle some on running plays. The 6-foot, 250-pound Ulbrich, a key cog in the 49er defense, took over pass coverage responsibilities from teammate Julian Peterson when the latter was lost to injury earlier this season.
“For at least 25 percent of the game, if not half the time, we’ll be matched up,” Ulbrich said. “He seems like he has the complete package. He’s always had great speed, so he’s definitely a threat. It’ll be a challenge.”
Neufeld agreed that playing against Ulbrich will be challenging and intriguing.
“We know each other real well,” he said. “We’re real close.”
This will be the first time the duo have competed against each other since practices at Live Oak a decade ago.
Dow, who coached at Live Oak for 18 years beginning in 1980, said that season’s Acorn team was one of the best he ever had.
Neufeld, a senior tight end that season who had blossomed from a 185-pound split end as a sophomore, and Ulbrich, a junior free safety, led the team to a Monterey Bay League title and into the CCS playoffs.
Neufeld, who also lettered in basketball and track during his high school career, was named all-MBL and all-Far West by SuperPrep magazine after catching 17 passes for 633 yards and seven TDs that season.
Ulbrich, who started for three years at LO, was also a CCS wrestling champion his senior season.
Dow remembers the regular season finale against neighboring rival Gilroy as one of the most exciting finishes in his coaching career. Trailing 14-7 and backed up deep in its own end with less than a minute left, Live Oak rallied when Acorn quarterback Benji Sanchez lofted a Hail Mary pass that Neufeld out-leaped two Mustang defenders for and caught in Gilroy territory. A play later, LO scored, tacked on the two-point conversion, and won the game to finish unbeaten in league play.
In the CCS playoffs, Live Oak lost 28-27 a heartbreaker to Leland and star Pat Tillman, the ex-NFL star and Army Ranger who was killed in action in Afghanistan, who scored four TDs in the contest. Leland went on to win the Division I title that season.
But no one could have predicted Sunday’s NFL meeting between the two star players back then, Dow said. He admits he didn’t think a pro career was likely for either player, though he said Neufeld was the likelier of the two to make the NFL.
“You look at Neufeld, who got bigger and bigger at UCLA, and he had that great speed and you could see he might have a chance,” Dow said. “When Jeff was with us he was a free safety and about 190 pounds. He had great speed but I never dreamed, if you told me was going to be a starting linebacker in the NFL I would have said you were crazy.”
Out of Live Oak, it was the older Neufeld who secured a full scholarship to UCLA, while a year later Ulbrich settled for Gavilan and then Hawaii.
But after college, their careers took a different turn.
It Ulbrich who was drafted out of college, by the 49ers in 2000, and it was he who almost immediately established himself as a potential full-time player. He became a starter at linebacker a few years later, and is now a team leader as one of the organization’s top veterans.
This year, Ulbrich is enjoying the best season of his career and was recently named the winner of the 2004 Matt Hazeltine Award, voted on by his teammates.
The Hazeltine Iron Man Award is named for former 49er linebacker/center Matt Hazeltine, a 13-year veteran who played more seasons at linebacker than any other 49er player. Known for his durability and dedication, Hazeltine passed away in 1987 from ALS and Bill Walsh established the award in his honor that year.
The award is given annually to the most courageous and inspirational defensive player.
“It means a lot,” Ulbrich said. “It’s a defensive award and I keep pretty good company on the defense, with guys like Bryant Young, Derek Smith and Tony Parrish. So it’s an honor.”
In his fifth year, Ulbrich leads the team with a career-high 144 tackles (76 solo), his second consecutive 100-tackle season. He has also recorded one sack, one interception and three passes defensed.
Neufeld’s pro football career didn’t go nearly as well. He went undrafted out of college and he signed with Dallas as a free agent in 1999.
He played in six games for the Cowboys, then spent part of the next season with Jacksonville, where he saw action in three games.
His career hit the skids in 2001. He was out of football for two years, though he was signed as a free agent by Seattle in 2002 and went to training camp with the Seahawks. (He was cut in the preseason.)
“It was kind of rough,” Neufeld said. “I was at a crossroads my second year out. I wasn’t sure if another team would give me a chance being out of the league so long.”
But his wife Dawn told him to keep trying as long as he had a shot, and his perseverance finally paid off.
Neufeld was signed by Buffalo last season, and made the team, playing 16 games mostly as the third tight end and special teams player. In the offseason, Neufeld was second on the depth chart at tight end behind starter Mark Campbell before the Bills drafted rookie TE Tim Euhus in the fourth round.
Then, just a few weeks ago, both Campbell and Euhus were lost for the season with knee injuries and Neufeld had his first real starting spot in the NFL.
Even better, after a slow start, Buffalo turned it on midway through the season, winning five straight games and catapulting from an also-ran 3-6 team to a playoff contender at 8-6. The Bills are tied with Baltimore, Jacksonville and Denver for the final AFC wild-card playoff spot.
It’s been quite a ride for Neufeld.
“It’s been different,” he said. “This is the first time something like this has happened. It’s been new and exciting. You never like to see (injuries) happen but on the same note it’s an opportunity for me to show what I can do. That’s kind of how (the league) works. You don’t get a chance until injuries happen. It’s been a long road but I’m getting a chance to show what I can do.”
Neufeld is also getting settled in at Buffalo, the first team for which he has played two straight seasons, and he has made plenty of friends on what he called a close-knit bunch.
For Roger and Sandy Neufeld, who still live in Morgan Hill, it’s been a different experience watching their son play this season, especially lately. They’ve already had a chance to see him play at Oakland earlier this season, and will be in the seats at Monster Park on Sunday.
“It’s kind of turned around for him (and the team),” Roger said. “He really, really enjoys playing for the Buffalo Bills. It’s great group of guys. He’s played for a few other teams but he’s never enjoyed it like this.”
Roger said Sandy is the football expert of the family. She’s the one who talks about “double tight end sets,” and she lives and dies with every play her son makes.
“I think it’s more stressful,” she said of Ryan’s still-new starting job. “Ryan always thinks he should catch everything. I really get in to the games and my husband says he can’t wait for football season to be over. I’m just so excited for (Ryan) because this is the last year of his contract and other NFL teams are getting to see him play. He said the coach tells him, ‘When you get in the car, be sure to buckle up and when you climb the stairs, be careful,’ because they’re hurting (at tight end).”
Roger said Ryan still calls home the night before every game and after every game, but he said he and Sandy won’t get much of a chance to spend time with Ryan over the Christmas weekend. The Bills fly in on Saturday for a walk-through practice, will stay in San Francisco that night, and will fly back to Buffalo to prepare for the next week’s game immediately after Sunday’s game.
“We just get a little wave during the game and we’ll see him for a few minutes afterward,” Roger said.
However, this time, Ryan will be leaving a little of himself behind when he climbs back on the plane to jet back to Buffalo.
His wife Dawn and their three-month-old son William Ryan Neufeld will stay with Roger and Sandy for a week.
Life is good for Ryan Neufeld and Jeff Ulbrich these days.
And, it’s not too bad for local football fans, either.
