Meriweather's mother gave birth to him when she was 13 years old. Meriweather started living with his adopted parents at age 11. Meriweather attended Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida where he helped lead his school to the Florida Class 6A state championship as a senior in 2001. He started as a kick returner, returning four kicks for touchdowns as a senior. He also lettered in track and basketball.
Early years
Meriweather's mother gave birth to him when she was 13 years old. Meriweather started living with his adopted parents at age 11. Meriweather attended Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida where he helped lead his school to the Florida Class 6A state championship as a senior in 2001. He started as a kick returner, returning four kicks for touchdowns as a senior. He also lettered in track and basketball.
College career
Meriweather went on to play college football at the University of Miami. In 2002, Meriweather played in three games and had three total tackles before injuring his ankle. Per guidelines, he was given a medical redshirt by the NCAA. In 2003, Meriweather played the majority of the season on special teams and in different nickel and dime packages. He got his first start against West Virginia as a nickel back. He finished the year with 22 tackles, one interception and five pass break-ups.
Meriweather played in all 12 games of the 2004 season but only started seven because of a nagging shoulder injury. He contributed 62 tackles, a half sack, two forced fumbles, five pass break-ups and two interceptions. He received the team's 2004 Hard Hitter Award.
Meriweather was named to the All-America team as voted by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and was also selected first-team All-ACC in 2005. He was also a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He led the team with a career-high 115 tackles, seven pass break-ups, one sack, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles and three interceptions. He received the team's Hard Hitter Award for the second consecutive season.
Meriweather was a member of the 2006 50th Anniversary Playboy Preseason All-America Team and was also on the Thorpe Award watch list for the second straight year. In 12 games, Meriweather registered 91 tackles, one sack, eight pass break-ups and one interception. He was also a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, and was voted first-team All-ACC and All-American. He left Miami with the record for most tackles by a defensive back with 293.
Meriweather was invited to the Senior Bowl at the end of the season.
University of Miami controversies
Shooting incident
On July 21, 2006 Meriweather was involved in a shooting incident when teammate Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks. In self defense, Meriweather returned fire and shot at the unidentified shooters three times. Meriweather was not charged with a crime because his gun was owned legally.
Miami-FIU Brawl
During the Miami-FIU brawl on October 14, 2006, Meriweather was seen stomping multiple times on several Florida International players on the ground. Meriweather was ultimately suspended by the ACC and Miami for his role in the incident. It is believed that his actions during the brawl and the shooting incident may have caused his draft stock to slip.
No comments:
Post a Comment