Dan Campbell got so riled up he lost his train of thought. He forgot where he was going. He heard the name Alim McNeill and just started gushing.
“Buttercup? He's a stud," Campbell said Tuesday as the Lions opened minicamp. "This guy has been here since day one, and I mean day one. Shoot man, he’s arguably the strongest pound-for-pound player we have, and we've got some strong guys on this team. But he’s definitely up there and works his rear off, so now I'm bubbling about him. Give me the question again.”
The question, for the record, was about the strides McNeill made as a rookie and how much further he can go in year two. And it's a pertinent one with the Lions moving to more of an attacking, four-man defensive front, something that McNeill said will give him "more freedom" to make plays, something that he -- and his dad -- are both "really excited about." The last time he played in a 4-3 defense was his freshman year at NC State when he said he was able to "beat guys with speed" from multiple positions. McNeill was a mere 299 pounds back then.
He's 330 four years later and just as fast.
"It fits me," McNeill said of the Lions' defensive shift. "Being able to play on the edge (of center), it’s just more of an advantage. I’m able to use my speed and my power on the edge of guys. I only have to play half of a man instead of being head up. It’s a huge advantage. It’s gonna work out great."
Campbell spoke highly of McNeill throughout last season when the third-round pick played in all 17 games for the Lions and caused problems in the trenches for some of the biggest, strongest men in the NFL. So did defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. And when Glenn was asked last week which players he expects to pop this season, McNeill was his first answer.
"We started putting Alim in positions where he could attack," said Glenn, "and you saw how disruptive he was."
So back to that question, about last season and this season, about the player McNeill was and the player he can be. If Campbell's being honest, "Mac has more versatility than we may have thought when we drafted him."
"We really liked the player, but once we got him here we were like, 'Man, this guy's got really good feet and moves well,'" Campbell said. "And I do think some of the things we're doing defensively, a little bit more of this attack, are going to serve him well because he’s got a quick first step and he is powerful. When you’re built the way he is with the tools he has, he could be somewhat problematic for an offensive line. I look at him, he's another one of those guys who's the core of our team."
It's those quick feet that earned McNeill his first nickname from Campbell early last season: 'Twinkle Toes.' And another from Glenn: 'Dancing Bear.' McNeill would just as soon stick with 'Mac,' but he's cool with whatever they want to call him, even if no one's ever called him 'Buttercup.'
"That’s definitely a Coach Campbell thing," McNeill said with a laugh. "He’s definitely the only person that would say that."
(Campbell didn't have much of an explanation for his latest moniker for McNeill other than, "I just love giving Mac nicknames. He's a character.")
And it's those quick feet that are so rare for a player of McNeill's size. The man is a mammoth but can move like a meerkat, an All-American linebacker and running back in high school who spent his spare time crushing homers on the baseball field. Now he's a nose tackle who can create pressure like a defensive end, a run-stuffer who can chase down the passer.
McNeill, who turned 22 last month, made some changes to his lifestyle this offseason. He said he started "taking things more serious," like his diet and his sleeping habits, to come back stronger this season. He found a nutrition coach in the wife of former Lions' defensive lineman Nick Williams and ate more of "the right foods," even if he prefers the wrong ones.
"I’m not gonna lie," McNeill smiled, "giving up late-night snacks, that was kind of hard at first. But I was like, if I want to do what I want to do, I gotta sacrifice for now. I can eat all the Doritos when I’m done."
It's already paying off. (And McNeill still allows himself the occasional cheat day at the Darius Slay-endorsed Captain Jay's: "The chicken and fries, can’t miss," he said.) On the second day of OTA's last month, McNeill said he felt "a lot different" in his new body, specifically more "explosive."
"I’m nowhere near where I want to be," he said. "But we’re getting there."
The Lions are nowhere near where they want to be either. They're coming off their fourth straight losing season with a defense that allowed the second most points in the NFL. Are they getting there? It feels like it. They've added talent on both sides of the ball, particularly on defense, particularly up front. The defensive line stands to be a strength, with McNeill crouched inside. Call him what you want. All that matters to McNeill is that Campbell called him part of "the core of our team."
"I’m glad he sees me as one of those guys, putting in the work day in and day out," said McNeill. "It’s a huge honor for him to say something like that."