Alim McNeill: "We Can Win Anywhere"

Alim McNeill is off to a fantastic start for NC State this season, with 12 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, a forced fumble, and a pick-six. He’s curently the highest-rated interior defensive lineman in the power five. 

McNeill will look to keep his strong start going as the No. 23 Wolfpack heads to take on its rival, No. 14 UNC, this weekend. McNeill spoke to the media via Zoom ahead of the big game, and here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say: 

You being an in-state guy and going through the recruiting process, with how vicious the fans can be, did you get a lot of backlash from Carolina fans once you picked State?

I didn’t really hear much from them. They were in the running as an in-state school, but I didn’t really get any backlash or anything like that from them, just support.

Do you watch the fans go back and forth and go after players who don’t pick State? 

I watch it happen, but it’s kind of funny. I don’t really have any thoughts on it. 

You guys have had backups contribute due to injuries, especially on defense. How important has that been, and how important was the cross training you guys did in fall camp? 

I think it’s very important. You’ve got to be able to step up at any point in time throughout the season, throughout the game. I think it’s really good that we have guys that can play that are low down on the depth chart and whatnot. Everybody’s getting a little bit of experience. It’s very important, it’s something that we hone in on, guys getting reps, getting locked in.

How much pride do you take when you take on a double team inside and see a defensive end or linebacker make a play?

I take pride in a lot. We all take pride in doing our jobs, whether I have one guy on me or not. But we take pride in our jobs, and as long as we’re doing our jobs and executing well, everything should fall into place. 

Is there any rhyme or reason as to why you guys have been so successful in Chapel-Hill?

There’s not really a method to the success. We just go over there and play hard just like we play anywhere else. It is a little bit different. Obviously it’s a rivalry, so we’re playing a little bit harder, but if we just play hard and stick together, we can win anywhere. But it does feel good to win a rivalry game in the opponent’s stadium.

You’ve got wins against Wake Forest and Duke now, so if you can win this week you sweep the state series and claim the state championship. How big a deal is that?

It’s a huge deal. We actually talked about that, being able to crown ourselves the best team in the state and whatnot. I think it would be pretty cool to be able to crown ourselves that. But we’ve got to come to play this Saturday; we’ve got a good team, a solid matchup.

What is it about Carolina’s offense that makes it tough to stop?

They’re a very good offense, high-energy offense. They’re going to come at you; they’re going to try to hit you in the mouth. They’re going to run the ball; they’ve got two great running backs, both look like Sunday guys to be honest. Big O-Line, big-play receivers. We’re going to be ready. We’re going to come to play because we have athletes and talent on our defense, too, that are going to be able to match up well. They’re a very good offense, though.

Did you ever imagine playing linebacker in high school that you would be a 300-pound-plus nose tackle?

I knew I was going to be a defensive lineman because that’s what everybody recruited me for. They had me in the rankings for defensive linemen in high school. I was like the 22nd-ranked defensive tackle, so I knew that’s what I was destined to play in college. It really started getting comfortable for me, actually, when we played UNC last year. That’s when it was truly comfortable for me and I was able to do things that I was working on the entire season. For this season, I’ve been able to do that pretty much every game. But I did imagine myself being a defensive lineman, because that’s what I got recruited for.

You are the highest-rated interior defensive lineman in the power five according to Pro Football Focus. Do you take pride in that, and is that something you pay any attention to?

The only time I see that is if I come across it on Twitter or my Dad will say something to me about it. But I really don’t focus on that. I really just want to win ball games. I do take pride in being a great D-Lineman, though. But as far as looking at rankings and stuff like that, I don’t really pay attention to it.