Often smallest player on field, Moorpark's Meadows was hard to stop
Immeasurable impact
By Joe Curley (Contact)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg
Moorpark College sophomore receiver Conrad Meadows, who was named the Western State Conference's MVP, averaged 152.8 all-purpose yards.
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At barely 5-foot-9, Conrad Meadows may not look like much off of a football field.
But the Moorpark College receiver, who studies Steve Smith, Santana Moss, Wes Welker and other "little guys" of the NFL, used that knowledge to become an All-American as a sophomore at Griffin Stadium this fall.
"I love it," said Meadows. "I love watching 5-9 Santana Moss jump over 6-1 Marcus McCauley last weekend.
"I just love watching those guys do that."
Over the past two seasons, Moorpark's No. 4 was the inspiration of a class that won 18 games and the program's 10th Western State Conference title, sixth bowl game and first playoff win.
"We knew that he was their player," said Mount San Antonio College quarterback Kevin Craft, who threw for 328 yards and six touchdowns in the Mounties' playoff win over Moorpark last month.
"He was the guy that was making things happen. He was why they beat El Camino the week before."
Meadows, The Star's Male Athlete of the Fall Season, earned the Western State Conference's Most Valuable Player award by catching 50 passes for 778 yards and eight touchdowns as Moorpark won the Pacific Division title.
"He's just Conrad," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "We haven't had a person that was like him."
In the postseason, Meadows caught 14 more passes for 328 yards and five scores as the Raiders shocked defending national champion El Camino, 42-41 in overtime, and pushed eventual Southern California titlist Mount San Antonio College before being eliminated, 59-35.
Meadows scored three times in the first 16 minutes of that game as Moorpark opened a 21-14 lead.
Which certainly concerned Craft.
"He was just pulling away from our defensive backs in the open field," said Craft. "You don't see that a lot from guys that aren't big, tall guys.
"You don't see people that have the breakaway speed like he has. And he's really strong."
Meadows averaged 152.8 yards in all-purpose offense per game to finish in the Top 10 in the state. He was named All-State by the coaches' association and a second-team All-American by JC Gridwire.
"He's probably the most exciting, fastest, explosive player I've seen in my 10 years at this level," Ventura assistant Ted Lawrence said the week of the Citrus Cup game in September. "He's a human-highlight reel.
"Every time he touches the ball, there's the potential for him to have a big play. You watch him and wonder how he ends up at this level."
It was a sentiment Craft shared with Meadows on the field after the game.
"He's too good to not get out," said Craft. "Right after we played him, I was making calls to all the guys who were recruiting me, telling them about him."
Meadows, who has received interest by Bowl Championship schools like Oregon, Arizona, Kansas State and Iowa State, has only received scholarship offers from Division I-AA teams like Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Portland State.
Craft is blunt when he's asked why Meadows would need his help to secure a Division I-A scholarship.
"It's hard to be an undersized, white receiver to have people take you serious," said Craft. "I know it sounds bad. But he's something special."
Meadows will only say more than a handful of opponents have come up to him after games this past fall and expressed surprise at his athletic ability.
"When you do certain things like jump and run so much better than other people, they just say that," said Meadows. "They don't expect it coming from somebody like me."
Meadows' senior year at Moorpark High was wrecked by injury, but the past two years at the community college level has done wonders for his confidence as a football player.
"It really has," said Meadows. "I feel like I have a lot more confidence. I don't question myself at all.
"And there are a couple things that I've done that I didn't know I could do."
Like hopping over a would-be tackler during a wild, winding punt return at Los Angeles Valley.
"That just happened," said Meadows.
Craft himself is being recruited by several schools, but would love to have Meadows in his receiving corps next fall.
"I'm still waiting to see what's going to happen," said Craft, "but it would really be fun with him, since he's a special athlete and a good guy."
Article from vcpreps.com
I know this has nothing to do about football,but I would like to request that any previous posts that were made under my username be deleted. My email has been hacked numerous times and I was scrolling through all past posts under my username and found some interesting posts that dont reflect my views in any way. I have been a member for quite some time but have never actually posted until now.
Thank You,
iso420
Edited by: iso420
Immeasurable impact
By Joe Curley (Contact)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg
Moorpark College sophomore receiver Conrad Meadows, who was named the Western State Conference's MVP, averaged 152.8 all-purpose yards.
RELATED STORIES
Prominent performers
Lassen: Trying to be perfect drives Lawrence Jackson
At barely 5-foot-9, Conrad Meadows may not look like much off of a football field.
But the Moorpark College receiver, who studies Steve Smith, Santana Moss, Wes Welker and other "little guys" of the NFL, used that knowledge to become an All-American as a sophomore at Griffin Stadium this fall.
"I love it," said Meadows. "I love watching 5-9 Santana Moss jump over 6-1 Marcus McCauley last weekend.
"I just love watching those guys do that."
Over the past two seasons, Moorpark's No. 4 was the inspiration of a class that won 18 games and the program's 10th Western State Conference title, sixth bowl game and first playoff win.
"We knew that he was their player," said Mount San Antonio College quarterback Kevin Craft, who threw for 328 yards and six touchdowns in the Mounties' playoff win over Moorpark last month.
"He was the guy that was making things happen. He was why they beat El Camino the week before."
Meadows, The Star's Male Athlete of the Fall Season, earned the Western State Conference's Most Valuable Player award by catching 50 passes for 778 yards and eight touchdowns as Moorpark won the Pacific Division title.
"He's just Conrad," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "We haven't had a person that was like him."
In the postseason, Meadows caught 14 more passes for 328 yards and five scores as the Raiders shocked defending national champion El Camino, 42-41 in overtime, and pushed eventual Southern California titlist Mount San Antonio College before being eliminated, 59-35.
Meadows scored three times in the first 16 minutes of that game as Moorpark opened a 21-14 lead.
Which certainly concerned Craft.
"He was just pulling away from our defensive backs in the open field," said Craft. "You don't see that a lot from guys that aren't big, tall guys.
"You don't see people that have the breakaway speed like he has. And he's really strong."
Meadows averaged 152.8 yards in all-purpose offense per game to finish in the Top 10 in the state. He was named All-State by the coaches' association and a second-team All-American by JC Gridwire.
"He's probably the most exciting, fastest, explosive player I've seen in my 10 years at this level," Ventura assistant Ted Lawrence said the week of the Citrus Cup game in September. "He's a human-highlight reel.
"Every time he touches the ball, there's the potential for him to have a big play. You watch him and wonder how he ends up at this level."
It was a sentiment Craft shared with Meadows on the field after the game.
"He's too good to not get out," said Craft. "Right after we played him, I was making calls to all the guys who were recruiting me, telling them about him."
Meadows, who has received interest by Bowl Championship schools like Oregon, Arizona, Kansas State and Iowa State, has only received scholarship offers from Division I-AA teams like Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Portland State.
Craft is blunt when he's asked why Meadows would need his help to secure a Division I-A scholarship.
"It's hard to be an undersized, white receiver to have people take you serious," said Craft. "I know it sounds bad. But he's something special."
Meadows will only say more than a handful of opponents have come up to him after games this past fall and expressed surprise at his athletic ability.
"When you do certain things like jump and run so much better than other people, they just say that," said Meadows. "They don't expect it coming from somebody like me."
Meadows' senior year at Moorpark High was wrecked by injury, but the past two years at the community college level has done wonders for his confidence as a football player.
"It really has," said Meadows. "I feel like I have a lot more confidence. I don't question myself at all.
"And there are a couple things that I've done that I didn't know I could do."
Like hopping over a would-be tackler during a wild, winding punt return at Los Angeles Valley.
"That just happened," said Meadows.
Craft himself is being recruited by several schools, but would love to have Meadows in his receiving corps next fall.
"I'm still waiting to see what's going to happen," said Craft, "but it would really be fun with him, since he's a special athlete and a good guy."
Article from vcpreps.com
I know this has nothing to do about football,but I would like to request that any previous posts that were made under my username be deleted. My email has been hacked numerous times and I was scrolling through all past posts under my username and found some interesting posts that dont reflect my views in any way. I have been a member for quite some time but have never actually posted until now.
Thank You,
iso420
Edited by: iso420