Well before he knew that New England would make him their number one draft
pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Miami Hurricanes defensive back Brandon Meriweather
shared some interesting comments about his approach to the game with the media.
Back in February at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, one of the
questions he was asked was whether or not he wanted to be like another famous
Hurricanes safety, Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens.
"As in what I want to be? No," he said. "He's a great safety, and
of course I want to be a great safety. But my game and his game is totally
different. He's more of a sit-back, 20-yard deep and just pick everything off
[safety]. And I'm more of a sit at 10 yards and want to hit you in your mouth.
"So it's a different type of game. So I want to be more of a Steve Waters,
Ronnie Lott. He wants to be more of an Ed Reed."
NFL fans and players will learn very quickly that Brandon Meriweather
projects a friendly, personable demeanor--when he's not wearing football pads.
And whether he's on the football field or not, he exudes confidence.
When he was asked by a member of the media to describe his game to the casual
fan who may not have seen him play, Meriweather said, "I'm one of a kind.
I'm not the biggest, I'm not the strongest, I'm not the fastest. But I can play
corner and I can also play safety, so I'm versatile ... I'm a
difference-maker."
And that's obviously what New England head coach Bill Belichick has seen in
his new star rookie as well.
But in addition to being involved in a gun
incident, Meriweather's "hit you in your mouth" attitude also put him
at the forefront of a brawl that erupted between the Hurricanes and Florida International players where the Meriweather was seen stomping on several
players. He was suspended for a game as a result of his actions.
Scout.com subscribers can listen in as Brandon talks about that incident and
what he learned from it. And he also talks about his versatility, his experience
with playing man coverage, and much more in this 5-minute audio clip from our
Scout.com team that was on site at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Just click the link below:
Listen to Audio