3/29/2021 football Edit

NC State’s Alim McNeill prepares for Pro Day, new beginnings

Justin H. Williams • TheWolfpackCentral

Staff Writer

NC State nose tackle Alim McNeill terrorized opposing ACC offensive linemen last fall as one of the best college football defensive tackles in the country. Now he’s ready to do the same in the NFL.

Nearly four months after the three-year Wolfpack lineman declared for the 2021 NFL Draft the morning of the Pack’s 2020 regular-season finale against Georgia Tech, McNeill will have the opportunity to showcase his talents before a scrum of NFL scouts Tuesday during NC State’s Pro Day.

A lot of work has been put in since the Wolfpack defeated the Yellow Jackets 23-13 on Dec. 5, McNeill’s last game as a member of the Pack.

The daily regimen of a Division I athlete is already a grind to juggle classwork, practices and social life, but the future Pack Pro says there’s even less time to spare now that he’s preparing for the NFL Draft that begins April 29.

“I've been able to enhance my diet, work on my wellness, get the right amount of sleep,” McNeill said. “I can get massages and stuff throughout the days, make sure I'm recovering in the right ways. It has been very different than being a college athlete, and it's been very beneficial for me. I feel like a totally different athlete right now, I just feel better about myself.”

NC State Wolfpack football Alim McNeill — NC State nose tackle Alim McNeill had the highest run-defense grade of any Power Five player in 2020 according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). (Ken Martin/The Wolfpacker)

The first-team All-ACC defensive tackle got up to 335 pounds last fall to help him take on double teams as a true nose tackle but has gotten down to 320 pounds as of Monday by working on his diet, specifically cutting out red meat and eating more vegetables.

His nutrition isn’t the only thing that has been given meticulous attention in preparation of the draft. Here’s a look at McNeill’s daily itinerary over the past four months:

6:30 a.m. Wake up

6:45 a.m. Make oatmeal and a smoothie, eat in the car

7:00 a.m. Arrive at the Murphy Center for training

7:15 a.m. Warmup on a stationary bike (15-20 minutes)

7:45 a.m. Weight Room (75-90 minutes)

9:30 a.m. Field work for speed and agility (90-120 minutes)

11:30 a.m. Shower and eat lunch

12:00 p.m. Recover, watch NC State practice

2:00 p.m. Meetings with NFL teams, media, etc.

3:00 p.m. Field work for extra D-Line drills, footwork

5:00 p.m. Rest, recover, eat, sleep, repeat.

Now the subject of NFL social media buzz with enhanced national attention, it’s easy for a pro prospect to feel anxious about draft stock or nervous about the gravity of the moment, but McNeill cited his personal work ethic as the main reason he hasn’t gotten caught up in any of that.

“I really don't have any time to be nervous, this is not the time to be nervous or have butterflies,” McNeill said. “There's no time to waste, so I prepare for it mentally. This is all that I've worked for. I've put the work in for it, and I'm ready to go in with a strong mentality almost like it's a game day. It's time to feast, it's time to eat, do what I need to do and just go in and ball out.”

A Raleigh native and local product of Sanderson High School before he arrived at NC State as a member of the 2018 class, McNeill will be moving to a new city for the first time in his life this summer once he knows the destination of his future employer in late April.

Just like his outlook on the upcoming month leading up to the draft, the 6-2 defensive tackle’s excitement for his future outweighed any worries of being homesick later this year.

“That's why I went out to California [to train in January],” McNeill said. “To get as far as I could away from home to see how it was, and it was great. The first week out there, I was like, 'I'm not going back to the crib, this is pretty good, I kind of like this.' I'm definitely not nervous or won't be homesick, nothing like that. It will be really exciting to be able to experience new things around me, new state, new city, and it'll be great.”

This time of year brings out player comparisons on almost every pro prospect on the board, but McNeill was quite clear which NFL player he looks up to the most in his availability Monday: Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

“I watch a lot of his film,” McNeill said. “I go on Youtube probably every-other day and just type in Fletcher Cox to watch anything on him, whether he's doing a vlog video or anything else. I try to emulate my game after Fletcher Cox. I like the way he destroys folks on the field. I can tell what his mentality is off the field and on the field, it's just all business and when he's on there. Guys feel him when he's on the field, his presence is known.”

The Wolfpack will miss the presence of the All-ACC nose tackle on the field in 2021 but return 10 starters on defense in what could be another upward year for the Pack.

McNeill echoed full confidence in his former team Monday and has high hopes for the squad to continue building upon the foundation he left behind on the defensive line.

“I really expect a lot out of every player in the starting 11, and the guys behind them,” McNeill said. “There's definitely some guys on this team that will be big playmakers. Some time is just what they needed, being able to learn the playbook from the front to the back.

“If I'm talking specifically, guys like Zonovan Knight, Ikem Ekwonu, Devin Leary, Devin Carter, C.J. Riley, Emeka Emezie, Thayer Thomas, Grant Gibson, I can go on and on. I'm expecting a lot out of all the guys on the team, especially those starting 11 on both sides of the ball.”