At Navy, Commitment Is for Meek

Following Illness, Tackle Reaches Goal With Mids

"They kept saying [Navy] was too good of an opportunity to pass up," Josh Meek says of his decision to re-apply to the academy. He has helped the Mids to a school-record 357.4 rushing yards per game. (U.s. Naval Academy)

Josh Meek's dream of playing division I-A football did not seem further away than the time he enrolled at North Texas and, instead of playing football, got a full-time job as a waiter.

Meek has since made good on his goal: He will start at left tackle for Navy tomorrow against Army. A 6-foot-1, 274-pound senior, Meek has started the past two years at tackle. The Midshipmen lead the nation in rushing with a school-record 357.4 yards per game (the previous mark was 323.2 set in 2003).

They also led the nation in rushing in 2005 and '06.

Being part of such success seemed a long way off for Meek in the summer of 2003. Meek had committed to attend the Naval Academy Prep School following his senior year at Flower Mound High near Dallas.

But on the early July day midshipmen were to report to NAPS -- called Induction Day, or "I-Day" -- Meek was headed to a Dallas area hospital.

For weeks, Meek had been suffering from slurred speech and an inability to walk or eat much. Initially, doctors told his mother they feared he had had a stroke. He moved into the bedroom on the first floor of the family's home because he was unable to walk up the stairs to his bedroom.

Late in the summer of 2003 he had mononucleosis diagnosed; the slurred speech was attributed to swelling at the base of his brain. By the time Meek recovered, he had lost 40 pounds, the Naval Academy had rescinded his acceptance and he was considering attending Texas A&M and not playing football.

"He had always had the best attitude, but [following his illness] he seemed really angry," said his mother, Laurie Meek. "He went through a lot of soul-searching."

Meek enrolled at nearby University of North Texas and, on the advice of a counselor at the Naval Academy, took the hardest courses he could find. While he regained his weight, he worked as a waiter at a local restaurant.

With his weight back, another decision faced Meek: whether to reapply to Navy. His then-girlfriend (now fiancee) attended Texas A&M, and he said he considered going there.

"My fiancee and dad and mom talked to me about the decision," Meek said. "They kept saying [Navy] was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

So Meek reapplied and enrolled at the academy in the summer of 2004.