WR Antonio Meeks Ready to Make an Impact for Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's well established at this point in time that the Louisville football program has incredible top end weapons at wide receiver.

Returner Chris Bell is coming off of a career year, and was recently voted to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Caullin Lacy missed most of last year with a collarbone injury, but was previously one of the most prolific wideouts in the sport at South Alabama. Additionally, NC State's Dacari Collins and San Jose State's TreyShun Hurry were two quality spring portal additions, and have already started to stand out in fall camp.

These four receivers are certainly going to get a lot of runs for the Cardinals for the upcoming 2025 season. That being said, there's another wideout that fans need to be on the lookout for to have a great year: Antonio Meeks.

"He's been super receptive," wide receivers coach Deion Branch said of Meeks. "As you can see what's going on football field, he's accepted the challenge. He just wants to compete, and that's what he's doing now. He's proving to the coaches that he can do it."

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound receiver originally joined Louisville last offseason as a transfer from Tuskegee. He had a productive two-year run with the Golden Tigers, who operate at the Division II level, hauling in 74 catches for 1,437 yards and 11 touchdowns during his time there. He caught 31 passes for 692 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman in 2022, then logged 43 receptions for 745 yards and five score as a sophomore.

Of course, making the jump from the Group of Five or FCS level to a power conference school can be a difficult endeavor, let only transitioning from D2. For Meeks, this also proved to be the case.

He caught two passes for 14 yards in garbage time of the Cardinals' season-opening blowout of Austin Peay, then had a nine-yard punt return vs. Jacksonville State. He also took some special teams snaps at Notre Dame and vs. SMU, but then took a redshirt and did not play in any more regular season games.

Some would be discouraged by not getting more playing time. But Meeks understood that it wasn't his time to shine yet, and was dedicated to the process.

"Taking everything day by day, and just accepting my role," Meeks said when asked howme maintained a high confidence level during this time. "I didn't have a problem redshirting, I knew that it wasn't my time. I understood that everything is the process. At no point would I ever give up on myself, so me having that mindset of just one day at a time, make each day the best day, it gives me the confidence knowing that I'm the ultimate deciding factor of what goes on in my life. I can't ask for anymore. I feel like me having that mindset, taking each day by day, gives me that confidence."

A critical moment for Meeks came in Louisville's matchup vs. Washington in the Sun Bowl. With Ja'Corey Brooks heading to the NFL, and three receivers entering the portal before the game, this paved the way for Meeks to earn a much bigger role in the passing game for the Cardinals' final game of the year.

Meeks might have caught just one pass against the Huskies, but he made it count, as it went for a 28-yard touchdown. Louisville would later go on to win 35-34 to secure their first bowl win under head coach Jeff Brohm.

86 DAYS UNTIL CARDINAL FOOTBALL 🏈🔥

In Louisville’s Sun Bowl win over Washington last season, #86 Antonio Meeks got his first TD as a Cardinal 😤 pic.twitter.com/lSZw8mlZPF
— Floyd Street Media (@FloydStMedia) June 5, 2025

Sure, Meeks might not have been the offensive MVP of the Sun Bowl. But considering he played a much bigger role in the preparation leading up to that game than he had in the regular season, while also getting to be a contributor in the winning effort, it proved to be a massive boost to his confidence and helped springboard him into the offseason.

"It definitely gave me a lot of momentum coming into the new season," he said. "Being a redshirt last season, it was definitely up and down for me. But (the Sun Bowl) definitely gave me a lot of momentum coming in, just getting my confidence back from my previous school where I did have a good season. Coming off of a good season and having a red shirt that was a high-low for me, but getting that momentum from the Sun Bowl definitely give me that drive that you see in practice."

Ever since that moment, Meeks has taken off. Not only does it look like he'll be able to be a regular contributor for the 2025 season, there's a very good chance he could become the third starting wide receiver alongside Bell and Lacy.

In spring ball, the Las Vegas native regularly ran with the first team unit, and showcased much improved speed, catching ability, and overall feel for his routes. Over the first few days of fall camp, Meeks has done that and then some, already showcasing a few reps that have drawn audible "ooh's" from the fans in attendance of the open practice.

It's clear that Meeks has already taken the necessary steps to improve in the offseason. Now, he's ready to keep building on that in fall camp, and show people what he can do when game day rolls around.

"Oh, I'm ready, 100 percent," he said. "Every day I show up, I give this my all. My people, my family, are counting on me. Right now, this is do or die for me. The season's 29 days away, so I feel like right now, if I wasn't ready, then there's no point."

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