Bernell DorroughWhen Adam Meranda was told that he was going to become the starting quarterback for the Washington University football team, he laughed.
“It was kind of a shock,” Meranda said.
Indeed, Meranda’s life has undergone some drastic changes recently. Last year he was a backup safety; this year, he is the starting quarterback in the wake of Matt Alley’s broken collarbone, and won his first collegiate start against MacMurray last Saturday. Last year, he was a regular college sophomore trying to juggle his athletic pursuits along with his heavy course load.
This year, he is a proud husband and father, his wife having given birth to daughter Felicity.
“It has definitely changed my perspective on football,” Meranda said. “When practice is over, it’s just awesome to be able to come home to a wife and child. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Head coach Larry Kindbom has been impressed with Meranda’s character off the field and production on it.
“I think Adam has done a really good job so far,” Kindbom said. “It’s hard for a guy that has to come in and learn everything from the very beginning.”
Meranda played quarterback in high school, and was recruited as such by the Bears. They later decided that he’d be a better fit on the defensive side of the ball. But when starting quarterback Nathan Szep transferred to Ohio State, the Bears found themselves thinner at the position, and called on Meranda. He dutifully switched sides of the ball again, but watched Alley get most of the time in practice.
“It’s almost like he was starting as a freshman,” Kindbom said. “When you try to get the number one quarterback ready, you have a lot of snaps going his way, and the number two guy doesn’t get enough time to really perfect anything.
“When you think about Adam’s situation, he’s done a tremendous job. He’s had to take over the offense, learn a lot, and get enough good reps in practice to go out and play the kind of game that he played.”
One might think that the time Meranda spent on defense turned out to be a waste, but not so.
“Having a year in the secondary in college really helped me out a lot,” Meranda said. “It helped me see how those guys think back there, so now I feel like I’m a better player because I know what they look for, and what they’re trying to read. It helps me beat them.”
Perhaps even more remarkable than Meranda’s ability to deal with his position switch is his ability to deal with school, sports, and a family simultaneously. It’s not often that a junior is more concerned with getting diapers than with mastering the playbook.
“Of course, football practice is a little different now,” Meranda said. “If I throw a pick, it’s not the end of the world.”
Meranda has certainly contributed his share to the team, and he’ll have to continue producing if the Bears expect to take home the University Athletic Association title. Alley’s broken collarbone will likely keep him out of action for at least six to eight more weeks.
“He’s still at the state where Mother Nature will do her thing,” Kindbom said. “I don’t think anyone will really know what his exact status is for another three to four weeks.”
The Bears will have their hands full this Saturday as the squad reaches an early crossroads to their season. Having suffered a disappointing loss to Simpson in the opener and following with a big road victory over MacMurray, the Bears are in a state of limbo. Win, and they are 2-1 heading into conference play. Lose, and they are 1-2, risking their first losing season since 1992.
The good news is that the Bears finally get to play at Francis Field in front of a home crowd. They will be hosting Illinois Wesleyan, who beat the Bears last season.
“They really have a balanced offense,” said Kindbom. “They run well, they throw well, and they are big and physical. They’re actually a kind of hybrid of our first two opponents. That poses a challenge in and of itself, but they also have a strong kicking game and they make few mistakes.
“Defensively, they were able to withstand a pretty good offense in Wisconsin-Lacrosse in their first game. They shut them out in the first half. They’re just a good football team, and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
The Bears played very well in notching the big win against MacMurray, but Kindbom still earmarked plenty of lackluster areas for his team.
“We need to shut down the running game,” Kindbom said. “If they can run, and run consistently, we’re not going to keep them out of the end zone. We can get better in our coverage units for kickoffs and punts. We had trouble with the punting game last week and must be better.
“Also, I think we have to push the ball down the field. Our running game continues to get better; it’s consistent. But we still need to be able to get wide receivers open in intermediate areas.”
With the fans roaring and a tough team on the other sideline, the Bears should have no trouble finding motivation this Saturday. With Meranda’s newfound position and experience, he should be ready to go.
“It was awesome to start and then come out on top,” Meranda said. “It was obviously a very good feeling. It kind of felt the same as it’s always felt, because you have to be ready to go out there at any time.”