OL Lukayus McNeil Says Louisville Is Capable of 'Dominating' Alabama's DL

Louisville offensive lineman Lukayus McNeil has given Alabama bulletin-board material heading into the season-opening showdown on Saturday.   

Per Jake Lourim of the Louisville Courier Journal, McNeil believes the Cardinals offensive line can dominate Alabama's defense in the trenches. 

"I understand that they got a good, deep front," McNeil said. "But we got a great O-line. So if we can dominate up front, then we're not worried about the defensive front at all. ... I definitely think we're capable of going out, starting off fast and dominating their D-line."

Among the reasons Alabama has been able to win five national titles since 2009 is its ability to recruit and develop talent on the defensive line. 

In his 2018 college football preview magazine (h/t 247Sports' Brad Crawford), Ben Steele ranked the Crimson Tide's defensive line as the fourth-best in the nation:

"Few schools retool on D faster than the Tide. Every year, Bama loses linemen to the NFL, and every year, it stuffs the run, leading the FBS in 2017 (94.7 yards allowed; 2.7 YPC). The new stars at DE are fourth team All-American Raekwon Davis and former JUCO star Isaiah Buggs. Powerful senior Johnny Dwight takes over at NG."

In addition to leading the nation in rushing yards allowed last season, Alabama finished 13th in sacks. 

Louisville's offensive line will be starting two underclassmen—redshirt freshman Mekhi Becton and sophomore Cole Bentley—against Alabama.

The Cardinals will also have a new quarterback in 2018, with sophomore Jawon Pass taking over for Lamar Jackson. Pass completed 69.7 percent of his attempts with two touchdowns in five games last season.