Stanford football 2015: Freshman Cornerback Quenton Meeks

Quenton Meeks was the last player to commit to an already stacked defensive backs class. Other defensive backs in the class is Eric Reid's younger brother Justin Reid, Frank Buncom IV, and Ben Edwards. Out of the 4 defensive backs that committed to Stanford, Meeks wasn't as highly regarded as the others. On signing day Meeks had narrowed down his top 3 schools to Stanford (obviously), Vanderbilt, and rival Cal. I remember scouting him as he was coming out of high school and here is what my scouting notebook says:

Quenton Meeks gave the Stanford offense two more offensive series and one of which was the game winning field goal. He kept Stanford in a game where the offense was struggling against a surprisingly stout defense and where the defense was on their heels all night long. But before his breakout game in Pullman, Meeks has been quietly putting together a good year. In his the games that he has played, Meeks, has had 19 tackles 14 of which coming in the last three games and 6 against Washington State.

You might be thinking, "How is this a good year?". First of all, he is a backup corner so he doesn't get that many snaps and second of all he is usually brought in when Stanford is running a nickel package (using 5 defensive backs). Combining those 2 facts about how little playing time Meeks gets, and then add that Meeks has had 5 pass deflections and 3 breakups and you get Meeks being a monster. He makes the most of his opportunities and that is what a good player does. Stanford is lucky to have Meeks for at least 2 more years. Yes, you heard me correctly...Quenton Meeks is a true freshman.

During the Washington State game Quenton Meeks was the best defensive player on the field. He made two crucial interceptions in the 2nd half, one of which set up the winning field goal and the other led to Stanford regaining the lead. The secondary needed to have someone step up against the 2nd best offense in the FBS and Meeks was the guy to do it. The interceptions were not the only way Meeks stepped up. He also recorded 6 tackles, one of which was a sack for 3 yards. Here is a gif of the interception that eventually led to the game winning field goal.

.@ShowtimeQM. BALLIN. #GoStanford #BeatWSU pic.twitter.com/8S6hjkEclg

— Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) November 1, 2015

Quenton Meeks has a bright future after his coming out party on Saturday. He will be relied on heavily going forward as he has outplayed first-string NB Terrance Alexander all year long and he will be the leader of the young secondary for the coming years. Saturday was just a little showing of what he can do and I fully expect him to get more opportunities throughout the rest of the year. So to go back to the original question, "Who is Quenton Meeks?", he is the guy who saved Stanford's playoff hopes.