Yet, New England's top pick arrives with some notable baggage. The first has to do with an incident last summer when Meriweather and teammate Willie Cooper, who were preparing for their morning workout, noticed a "suspicious" car parked outside the on-campus home they shared. According to reports, when they went to investigate, a man hiding alongside the house popped up and shot Cooper in the buttocks. Meriweather then took a pistol out of his pants and fired three shots.
According to the police report, he did not hit the assailant. Because Meriweather had a permit to carry the gun and police determined he was defending himself, no charges were filed.
Note to young Mr. Meriweather: If you see a suspicious car parked outside your new home in New England, please resist from stuffing a gun down your pants. Try calling the police instead. Our local law enforcement officials -- not to mention your neighbors -- will appreciate it.
Meriweather acknowledged in a conference call yesterday it was a "dumb decision to have a gun."
"I should have known better than to even have a gun," he said. "But I'm trying to get over it and help build a football team."
Asked why he had a gun, Meriweather answered, "Next question."
If this incident was the only smudge on an otherwise spotless résumé, Meriweather would have escaped further scrutiny. Everyone has the right to defend himself.
But there is more.
Remember the hideous Miami-Florida International brawl last Oct. 14? It was an ugly outbreak of violence following an extra point in the third quarter that proved to be an embarrassment to both programs. Meriweather was hardly an innocent bystander in the melee. He was the one who stomped on an unidentified FIU player in the pile, kept wrangling with additional players who were upright, then stomped at least twice more on FIU freshman Artis Warthen, who was down on the ground with his back to Meriweather.
