*All athletes have that one game, that one contest, that ranks as the most unforgettable of their lives. It can be memorable because of a personal or team achievement, a dramatic finish, a sentimental moment, or any number of other factors.
Continuing an annual summer series, Packers.com caught up with the members of the 2009 draft class to ask them about the game they'll never forget. It could be a game at any level of competition that took place at any time. They're all hoping their new NFL careers will give them new memories and new games to cherish, but for now, these rank at the top.*
Nearing the end of his first season as a starter for South Carolina, left tackle Jamon Meredith was going to find out just how good he might be.
Facing in-state archrival Clemson on Nov. 25, 2006, Meredith wrapped up the regular season of his redshirt sophomore year going head-to-head with soon-to-be first-round draft pick Gaines Adams, the standout defensive end.
Not only that, but the game was in Clemson's ultra-loud Memorial Stadium, also known as Death Valley, and Adams was just two sacks away from tying the career record for sacks at his school.
Good luck, kid.
"My offensive line coach challenged me personally and I had to step up," Meredith said. "He told me I had to go against a tough player, trying for this record, and he obviously wanted to break it. He told me to bring my 'A' game."
Fortunately Meredith did against a star who five months later would be the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and the first defensive player taken in the draft. Not only did Adams fail to get the coveted school sack record, but he didn't have a single sack in South Carolina's 37 pass attempts. Meredith helped to hold him to just five tackles (three solo) and one hit on the quarterback.
He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his yeoman's work, and the South Carolina offense rolled up 492 yards against a defense allowing barely half of that on average coming in. And to cap it off, the visiting Gamecocks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to pull off a 31-28 upset, their first win at Death Valley in a decade.
"Everything was going together right," Meredith said. "We had a good plan that week also.
"It wasn't like I was dominating him. He was definitely giving me a run. But I was a redshirt sophomore at the time and I was just happy to be hanging with him. For him to be a top-5 draft pick, I was just happy to keep him from the quarterback. It wasn't always pretty, but overall I think I did pretty good."
Meredith got off to a good start in the game and kept it going from there. On South Carolina's second possession, he threw a key block on Adams to help spring Cory Boyd for an 18-yard run down to the Clemson 1. South Carolina punched it in to tie the score at 7.
Meredith nearly had to work overtime against Adams. After South Carolina battled back from a 28-14 deficit for a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter, Clemson had a chance to tie the score with a 39-yard field goal on the final play. But the kick missed wide left.
Crediting the coaches' game plan and a good day by the offense as a whole, Meredith wonders now if that performance got him on the radar of NFL personnel folks. With Adams such a highly touted prospect, all of his game film was scrutinized, and scouts certainly saw the game Meredith had against him.
{sportsad300}The Packers ultimately drafted Meredith this past April in the fifth round, and they're going to see if he's a potential left tackle of the future in Green Bay.
Playing regularly in the Southeastern Conference, he's certainly faced his share of top-notch competition. That 2006 season alone, he went against noted pass rushers Jarvis Moss and Derrick Harvey of Florida and Quentin Moses of Georgia. The two Gators were first-round draft picks in 2007 and 2008, respectively, while Moses was the first pick in the third round in '07.
"Every game was against another draft pick," Meredith said. "It seems like every week in the SEC, at least somebody on the D-line is an NFL prospect."
Adams did eventually tie Michael Dean Perry's Clemson sack record with two sacks in the Tigers' bowl game to close his college career, but at least Meredith didn't have to worry about showing up in all of Adams' highlight packages during the draft coverage that following spring.
"I just know he didn't get the record on my watch, so it was all good," Meredith said. "I play a lot better when I go against a lot better people. Since he was so good, it raised my level of play. It raised my intensity level up, and I was able to compete with him."
