Colleges

Vols wideout not afraid to get hands dirty

Tennessee wide receiver Robert Meachem has had a breakout season, with 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns.

By JOEY KNIGHT
Published December 29, 2006

TAMPA - When NFL scouts conduct their background checks on potential draftee Robert Meachem, they're bound to find a fair share of dirt - lodged under his fingernails.

The Tennessee wideout who runs like a deer knows how a Deere runs. Tractors and track meets coexisted during his youth as a part-time cowboy's son in Tulsa, Okla., where he inherited a small farm from his paternal grandfather.

"I did a lot of farmwork as a little kid," said Meachem, who might be preparing for his last game in a Vols uniform.

Among those agrarian pursuits: tending the garden; driving a tractor; feeding horses, cows and chickens; and even dabbling in rodeo competition such as calf roping.

"But I was never strong enough," he said. "I was too small to flip the cow over."

These days, he's still not flipping - at least in the confession sense of the word.

The second-most pressing question of the 2007 Outback Bowl, behind whether Penn State coach Joe Paterno will walk the sideline under his own power, is whether Meachem will skip to the NFL after Monday's game.

The 22-year-old father of an 18-month-old girl, he's not dropping any hints.

Then again, he hasn't dropped much of anything during his breakthrough season 67 catches, 1,265 yards, 11 TDs, which resulted in first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors.

"He's as good as there is," Paterno said. "All of a sudden, he came out of almost nowhere."

Whether Meachem would be a first-round draft choice in 2007 is debatable. First-day pick seems more likely. Several underclassmen, such as Georgia Tech junior Calvin Johnson and USC junior Dwayne Jarrett, are projected ahead of him at receiver should they declare.

What's more, only 14 receivers have been taken in the first round during the past three years. But the fact Meachem is even part of the conversation is a testament to how he has complemented his fleetness and physical upside (6 feet 3, 210 pounds) with a confidence and consistency missing in previous years.

At a school that has produced the likes of Carl Pickens, Alvin Harper, Marcus Nash and Joey Kent, Meachem's yardage total this year is Tennessee's single-season record. His yards per game (105.4) ranks first in the SEC and third in Division I-A.

"He's making the plays he's supposed to make," said Vols first-year receivers coach Trooper Taylor, whose move from running backs coach coincided with Meachem's breakthrough.

"He's taking the hits and making it a touchdown where last year he would've dropped it. I just think he's matured a bunch and understands every play is big, not just the big-time fade or jump over somebody's back."

And offensive continuity may be a factor. In the debacle that was Tennessee's '05 season, the quarterback carousel of Erik Ainge (five starts) and Rick Clausen (six) hindered Meachem's hopes of developing a rhythm with either. As a result, he finished with 29 catches.

This year, Ainge has remained the unquestioned starter when healthy. "He has one quarterback throwing him the ball every day; he doesn't have two, which helps a lot," said Ainge, a 6-6, 220-pound junior.

"The defense getting us the ball ... us playing better just in general on defense and on offense, he's going to get the ball more. The more we have the ball, the more chances he has to make catches."

If that comes across as simple math, Meachem and Taylor insist the decision on his future won't be much more complicated. Taylor said they'll solicit assessments from at least eight NFL clubs to determine his draft "grade."

If the junior is projected to be selected within the first 15 picks, Taylor said, he should go pro. If not, he should remain in school. "We're not going to make a decision based on what an agent or some scout may have said."

And they definitely won't make a decision until well after the Outback Bowl.

Meachem, in fact, has said he plans to fast - as in no food - a couple of days before deciding.

The decision "is not hard for me because I haven't thought about it," said Meachem, only the sixth Vols player to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards.

"A lot of people say, 'What are you going to do? You're a dummy if you come back, you're a dummy if you go.' Everybody has their own opinion, but I'm going to be the one that makes the last one."

Joey Knight can be reached at (813) 226-3350 or jknight@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 29, 2006, 00:22:56]