Meet Alim McNeill, North Carolina State’s explosive DL prospect

The nose tackle position is one that generally goes unnoticed, so when a player is able to stand out in that role, you know that player is especially talented.

Such is the case for North Carolina State’s Alim McNeill.

With 10 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss in his three seasons with the Wolfpack, he was able to not only eat up gaps and free up his teammates to make plays, but he made his fair share of big plays, as well. Though a reliable contributor throughout his time in college, he truly broke out in 2020, when he was named an AP second-team All-American and a first-team All-ACC player.

An explosive athlete with a high ceiling in the NFL, McNeill looks to carry on his successes at the collegiate level to the pros.

Draft Wire recently spoke exclusively with McNeill about his multi-sport background, the toughest competition he’s ever faced, his blossoming talent in music, and more.

JI: You played quite a bit as a 0-technique nose tackle at NC State. What’s your favorite part about playing a position that might not be the flashiest position out there?

AM: That’s just it for me. It’s not the flashiest, but you do your job, you get the job done. The recognition will come later with it. I really like it. You just get to strike – you destroy the center every time you get the chance to. It’s just a real physical position. I like it just because of the role itself. It’s not the flashiest or anything; you do your job, you do it well, and great things will happen.

JI: It’s super important because you get to eat up gaps and free up space for your teammates to make big plays, right?

AM: That was the biggest thing, too: just being able to see guys make plays, other people doing their job, perfecting their role, and that’s something I really like to see.

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JI: You had quite the sports background in high school. You were a running back, linebacker, and even an outfielder for your baseball team. How has that diverse experience helped you out at defensive tackle?

AM: I think it helps tremendously. It just builds overall athleticism, hand-eye coordination, just different things within the mind, thinking pace and stuff like that. I think it helps tremendously. I also played a little basketball – I only played two years organized and a lot of pickup. I think overall, playing a lot of sports can help you out, definitely, with any sport.

JI: You’re a great athlete, especially for your position. How do you work to keep your speed while adding muscle to your frame?

AM: There’s nothing special to it, I just make sure I’m getting the work in, the extra work that I need to be able to keep my athleticism. Going through NC State really helped me with that a lot [through] the strength staff, and also being [in California] at Sports Academy has helped me tremendously. Just making sure I’m stretching good, eating good, and doing everything I can to be able to remain the same athlete.

JI: Before the season, you were named to Bruce Feldman’s athletic Freaks list. How did you react upon hearing that?

AM: I thought it was a pretty cool honor to have. It’s what I expect out of myself, though, but I thought it was cool. I was really honored to have that.

JI: Who’s the best offensive lineman you’ve gone up against in the ACC?

AM: I’d say Jimmy Morrissey from Pitt. He’s a really sound center, really good technique, quick guy, and he had good hands. I would say that’s, by far, the best center I’ve played against.

JI: Is it true that you were once able to eat 30 chicken wings in one sitting?

AM: That was a joke (laughs). I know [NC State offensive lineman] Joe Sculthrope said that. I don’t know why he said that. I definitely can’t do that.

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JI: Do you know many wings you’d be able to eat? If he threw such a big number out, I’d think that indicates you could eat a bunch of them.

AM: I really don’t know where he got that from (laughs). I could probably eat, like, 10 in a sitting and be done. I can’t really eat that many wings; I don’t know why he put that out there.

JI: Outside of football, you’ve been pretty active working with music. What can you tell us about that?

AM: It’s just something I do for fun, really, usually as an escape, I guess you could say. If I’ve got some time to do it or if I’m bored, I’ll just make a beat or make a song, produce it. I actually get help from one of my teammates, too: [defensive lineman] Dante Johnson, he produces a lot of the songs and engineers them for me. It’s just something I like to do; it’s a cool hobby.

JI: Do you have any musical influences?

AM: Not per se, really. I like listening to all music, a lot of different artists, so I wouldn’t say I have a specific influence. I just go with the flow of what I’m feeling.

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JI: How else do you like to spend your free time outside of football?

AM: I like adventuring, riding around, stuff like that. I’ve done a lot of that since I’ve been here in California. Music is really the only thing I can get into. Shopping, I like clothes, fashion and whatnot. [I like] music more than anything.

JI: How’s your training coming along as you’re preparing for the draft?

AM: It’s going really good. I’ve dropped a ton of body fat. I’m just loving it out here, just getting it in, increasing my athleticism. We do a lot of cognition work here, too, sharpening the mind and whatnot. I really love it out here, it’s going great.

JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?

AM: Just an athletic player who makes plays. Great teammate, leadership role guy. You’re going to get a full package out of a guy like me. I’m just going to give my all every day, 100 percent, to make sure I’m doing the right thing to best contribute to my team’s success. I think that’s the biggest thing, and being a great teammate, doing what’s right for the team. That’s definitely what you’re going to get out of me.