Tennessee football: 5 former Vols greats who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

Part of a much-heralded recruiting class, Robert Meachem had a ton of fanfare in Knoxville upon his arrival. Despite that, a knee injury forced him to redshirt his first season in 2003. But when he got on the field in a limited role in the 2004 season, he was able to show that he had some goods as he caught 25 passes for 459 yards and four scores. In fact, his first career reception was a 35-yard touchdown.

Meachem, unfortunately, played a similarly limited role as a redshirt sophomore in the 2005 season and his numbers took a bit of a hit, especially as he played in two fewer games than the previous year due to the Vols having a down season and finishing just 5-6. He still finished with 29 receptions for 383 yards and two touchdowns.

It was as a redshirt junior, however, when Meachem became a household name in Tennessee football lore. In a bounce-back year for the Vols going 9-4 overall, the wide receiver set a school record that still stands with 1,298 yards on 71 receptions. He also scored 11 touchdowns on the year, which is tied for the third-most in a single season in school history.

After his breakout season and a strong showing at the NFL Combine, Meachem was selected in the first round (No. 27) by the New Orleans Saints. He missed his rookie season due to injury and, while he did show some life from 2009-11 with over 600 yards in each season, he never fully became the standout he was picked up to be. He was out the league after seven seasons and failed to amass even 3,000 receiving yards for his career with just 27 touchdowns.