UCF Commitment Film Review: OT Jamal Meriweather

Examining the talents of UCF’s most recent commitment, offensive tackle Jamal Meriweather.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Apr 18, 2022 9:52 AM EDT

ORLANDO - When first getting word of a high ceiling offensive tackle committing to the Knights, it was like an omen. After literally just mentioning that UCF needed to land a couple of really good offensive tackles while just talking about UCF Football with Inside The Knights writer Stephen Leonard, it was not 10 minutes later that a major commitment took place.

Ask and you shall receive. Here’s a look at UCF’s newest commitment and what he brings to UCF.

Jamal Meriweather

Size: 6’6”, 270-pounds

Position: Offensive Tackle

High School: Brunswick (Ga.) High School

Frame

Meriweather has what a college offensive line desires, and that would be length. His wing span allows him to at least place one of his hands on a defender even when he’s not in a good position to make a traditional block while his feet are set. Coaches want measurables, and Meriweather is the definition of why. He can conceivably help an offensive line win a rep as a unit just with his natural length.

That cannot be taught.

He’s also just beginning to fill out, as Meriweather is no place near a physically developed player. Once he arrives at UCF, this will be a young man that adds mass and does so quickly. Long and athletic legs will look much different by the time the 2024 season comes around. From the time he enrolls at UCF next year, he will go through quite a positive transformation.

Power

Meriweather still packs a punch at the point of attack. It also matters as to where he’s playing when he engages with other high school linemen. For those that do not know, Brunswick, Ga. is a city about an hour just north/northeast of Jacksonville, Fla. It’s nestled along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. There are a lot of good prep football players in that area, such as fellow UCF commitment Troy Ford, Jr. just a little ways north in Savannah, Ga. Therefore, Meriweather is playing against some big and talented players at the high school level and he still gets movement with his size and strength.

Now, imagine a 310-pound version of Meriweather in two years. He will be helping to create a hole during an inside zone play for a big and powerful runner like current freshman running back Jordan McDonald (another former Georgia prep player, ironically). That’s exciting to think about.

Athleticism

Going through the film, the one thing that’s needed to see would be playing in space. Brunswick does not pass much, but Meriweather does pull and pin, i.e. coming around from offensive tackle and leading the team’s running back through the A or B gap. He’s much lighter on his feet than some might initially project.

That’s probably why schools like Southern California, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Utah extended this young man a scholarship. Take Kentucky and Utah as great examples. They both look for prospects with high upside across the country because they are in states with low numbers of top prospects. They are also both known for power football and using their offensive linemen in space, and both categories are what Meriweather provides in terms of upside.

There's a good reason that both Kentucky and Utah offered Meriweather. UCF is in the same situation. It needs powerful and athletic lineman like Meriweather that do multiple things, and it starts with being an athlete.

Best Attribute

This is simple. It’s Meriweather’s length. Once he learns the nuances of pass protection, he will be incredibly difficult to move past no matter the down and distance.

When he’s in pass protection, he actually looks quite comfortable. Good balance with his kick step, and he does not consistently stop his feet after contact, a trait most young linemen suffer from. Thus, he could end up at right tackle or left tackle.

Area to Improve

Flexibility and bend. It’s something each offensive lineman heading to the college level needs to continue to improve. Meriweather is tall. He can lose the leverage battle if he does not stay low and drive through his hips, and that would be the area that needs improvement prior to heading to Orlando for college. Then again, that’s almost an automatic for any offensive tackle coming out of high school.

Big high school offensive tackles like Meriweather are so accustomed to simply overpowering an opposing prep player that they fail to keep their butt low and drive through their hips. There’s still time for this young offensive tackle to improve on that area and it will be revisited by Inside The Knights after his senior season.

It’s not whether a player made the block that counts, it’s the technique that goes with it so that he continues to improve the craft of being an offensive lineman. Every rep matters. This applies to pass protection and run blocking. Meriweather must learn to work his craft every time he walks in front of an opposing high school player even if it's an inferior opponent. That’s still a chance to get better on that very next snap of the football.

Final Thoughts

While Meriweather is far from a finished product, his upside is really high. As long as this big man keeps grinding, there is no reason he should not be a multi-year starter for the Knights.

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