Notre Dame WR Tobias Merriweather Focused on Big Play Opportunities
It’s rare to find high expectations for a sophomore receiver with one catch to his name, but that’s exactly where Tobias Merriweather sits entering the 2023 season.
The 6-foot-4, 204-pounder’s one career catch was a 41-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter against Stanford last October and it was a glimpse into what Merriweather can bring the Notre Dame offense.
Enter football trigger words: Playmaking. Taking the top off. Speed. Deep ball.
Merriweather can provide all of the above as few have his size, but his athleticism and speed truly separate him from his peers.
Yet, the Washington native was focused on chemistry with his new quarterback during fall camp.
“Camp is just about growing as a team,” stated Merriweather. “We’ve got a new quarterback. We're trying to make our connection stronger. All the receivers know it's about the team meshing together and being able to make plays when it matters, on Saturdays.”
The good news for Notre Dame’s offense is Merriweather and the other receivers feel that rapport is there after eight months of work with Sam Hartman. Is it a finished product? No. And that makes the start of the season even more intriguing as there will be ebbs and flows before say...September 23rd.
“I feel like from day one to what is it — day 14 or 15 now, it’s been like completely different,” Merriweather explained. “Even from spring to now it's completely different in terms of what we know. We're on the same page. We can read the same coverage, read the same thing, and like being able to make the plays when it matters.”
Hartman might be new to Notre Dame, but it didn’t take long for the receiver room to realize the veteran’s talents and where the offense can go under his leadership.
“It's all you want,” stated Merriweather. “It’s what you come to Notre Dame for. It's what you play college football for. Sam is one of the best quarterbacks who ever stepped foot on a college football field.”
The catch against Stanford is exactly what Notre Dame needs Merriweather to do with consistency this fall. Win a one-on-one battle and make an explosive play. Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool found that consistency later in their careers and fair or not, Notre Dame needs Merriweather to do it a year earlier.
Winning 50/50 balls and making tough catches has been an emphasis from receivers coach Chansi Stuckey and while the results are mixed coming out of preseason camp, Merriweather and the Irish receivers continue to put a significant focus on finishing.
“I think just understanding what they're trying to do against us, watching film, studying them,” Merriweather said of how Notre Dame can win more one-on-one battles. “We have some of the best corners in the nation. So, iron sharpens iron. Every day we go against them we're getting better. “
Merriweather has felt Stuckey pushing him, but the coaching style and points have also changed since he arrived on campus last June.
“Last year, he was really on me because I didn't know what I was doing a lot of times,” said Merriweather. “He was making sure, ‘You know this. You know this.’ Every time I messed up, he was like, ‘Here, on it, on it, on it’.
“Now when I mess up, he gives me that look. He's like, ‘You know what you did. Fix it. Don't do it again.’ It's been a lot different, and I think he has a lot of faith in me and that he wants me to be great. He wants all of us to be great.”
Stuckey has seen Merriweather mature over the last year, which isn’t necessarily a surprise for a player coming out of year one. Yet, it’s clear Merriweather embraced taking on a larger role in the receiver room despite his inexperience.
“He's matured so much,” Stuckey explained. “He's taken a leadership role. We had a great summer and like any receiver, even ones who are playing the NFL, there's always room for improvement and route running and understanding there's always, we want guys with a mindset to learn all the time and he has a deep mindset to learn, urge to learn, understanding why and how detailed can I be and that's all I can ask for.
“The rest will take care of itself. It's the truth of who he is. The work and then results will take care of themselves.”
Off the field, Merriweather has also put in the work in the weight room as at one point he was up 40 pounds from the day he arrived on campus.
“Since I've gotten here, I've gained 40 pounds and lost 10,” Merriweather said, “So I'm up like 30 pounds right now from when I first got here.
“I got almost up to like 210 at one point and now I’m about 2000-205. I feel like I've gotten tremendously stronger. And you ask anyone, it’s a different guy on the field in press coverage.”
Now, it’s worth noting Merriweather passed on early enrollment to run track his senior season, which led to him arriving a little lighter.
That said, Merriweather hasn’t noticed a chance in his physical abilities with the added weight.
“Our strength staff does a really good job of making sure we stay at our peak athleticism,” Merriweather stated. “I feel like I'm faster, if not quicker, just stronger too.”
As for those expectations, Stuckey has no problem with them as it’s a reflection of the talent in his room, but he also wants his receivers to stay in the moment and not get caught up on opinions outside The Gug.
“If they're here with not high expectations, we've got the wrong guy,” said Stuckey. “We should have the best in the country at each position here and I think we're getting to that at the receiver position. But you meet each guy where he is. You don't want to put more expectations on him than other people do.
“I will never kind of tell him what the outside world is saying, even though you read it. I try to stay focused on who he is and what we're trying to do in the building and what he needs to improve on. When you start listening to outside noise and you start reading your own clippings of where I should be doing and not should be doing, you lose focus.
“I try to keep all my guys focused. That's why our love is so strong in our room because it's right here, right now, each day, win the interval, let the results take care of themselves and be prepared to have success. You need to train to have success and that's what I work with the guys on.”
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