The Wolfpacker

July-August 2020 Issue

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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JULY/AUGUST 2020 ■ 33 down. The experience is really important." With the departures of Murchison and cur- rent Washington Redskins rookie defensive end James Smith-Williams in the offseason, the junior interior lineman is the Pack's lead- ing returning tackler in the trenches for 2020. "I'm counting on him to be an anchor up front," defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. "From day one when I took over, I leaned on him to be a leader in that room and now he's got the most experience. "We need him from day one to be a domi- nant player up front, and he has all the abil- ity to do that. We are looking for a huge, huge year out of him. He's motivated." The new-look leadership on the defen- sive line this season isn't limited to on-field personnel. In January, head coach Dave Do- eren brought in new defensive line coach Charley Wiles, a 33-year coaching veteran who spent the majority of his 24 seasons at Virginia Tech under Hall of Fame head coach Frank Beamer. Although Wiles had a brief window to get familiar with his players before COVID-19 cut spring practice short in March, McNeill says it hasn't taken long to get acquainted with the new D-line coach. Several of the defensive linemen, including McNeill, had already known Wiles from his time recruit- ing them at Virginia Tech. Throughout the three-month separation in the spring, McNeill and his fellow line- men were able to stay sharp through weekly strength and conditioning regimens prescribed by Burnette, and film review sessions with Wiles and Gibson via virtual Zoom meetings. "I know we're going to come back prepared to work," McNeill said. "We haven't skipped a beat. It will really just be about building that chemistry back on the field. I'm not saying that we've lost it — it's just different on the field the way everything mixes together." The defense will need improvement from 2019 up front if it wants to take a step forward this fall. While McNeill has already proven to be a major contributor in the trenches as an underclassman, he'll be expected to become the primary catalyst on the defensive line this year. "He's very talented," Gibson said. "Obvi- ously, he's got to have the best year that he's had since he's been here. "You saw signs of it last year, but he wasn't consistent enough. We've got to get that out of him. I have complete confidence in Coach Wiles and Alim to make that happen." A big setback for the Wolfpack in its 4-8 campaign in 2019 was its minus-13 turnover margin, which included only eight takeaways on defense and ranked last in the ACC. A big part of that was NC State finished tied for last in the Football Bowl Subdivision in interceptions forced, with just four picks on 412 pass attempts, a less than one percent interception rate. "We need more pressure on the quar- terback than we had," McNeill said. "We believe we're the key to most interceptions by hurrying up the quarterback. "If we just do what we have to do, put trust in Coach Wiles, Coach Gibson, Coach Doeren and our entire coaching staff, we'll be a really good D-line and a great defense overall." Individually, McNeill's goal this season is to be the best teammate possible, whether it's making plays on the field or leading by example off of it. "As for the team, we want the national championship," McNeill said. "It starts with the ACC championship. We work for that every time we work out, practice or meet on a Zoom call. "That's all we're thinking about, winning championships." ■ " I'm not going to lie, I think about it all the time. I work like I want to be a first-round or top-10 pick. I think about it all the time when I'm working out or doing something school-related. I just think about where I want to be in the future. " McNeill on working toward a career in the NFL

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