Sanderson High School to Retire Former NC State All-American Alim McNeill’s Number

Tomorrow night, Sanderson High School will retire the jersey number of former NC State All-American defensive tackle Alim McNeill.

No Spartan will ever wear McNeill’s No. 29 again.

Coming out of high school, McNeill was a consensus four-star prospect. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 117 overall player nationally in the 2018 recruiting class, the No. 12 defensive tackle, and the No. 8 player in the state of North Carolina.

In three seasons of varsity football at Sanderson, McNeill compiled 215 total tackles, 45 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, five forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.

McNeill went on to play three seasons at NC State, shining brightest in his junior year. In 2020, he earned First-Team All-American honors from PFF and Second-Team honors from the AP. In what would be his final season wearing the Red & White, the Raleigh native posted 26 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and one sack, finishing with a team-high PFF grade of 90.7.

The Detroit Lions selected McNeill in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the 72nd overall pick. He is now entering his fifth year with the Lions after signing a four-year, $97 million extension last fall.