Union junior receiver Merriweather can fly. College football programs have taken notice
The Union High School football team was playing against Battle Ground in 2018, Tobias Merriweather’s freshman season. The way Union coach Rory Rosenbach tells it, Merriweather hawked a ball carrier down 65 yards down the field, in the vein of D.K. Metcalf chasing down Budda Baker when the Seattle Seahawks played the Arizona Cardinals in October.
Somehow, he closed the distance and was closing in on the ball carrier. Rosenbach watched in stunned disbelief from the sideline. Then, Merriweather missed the tackle.
“He’ll probably hate me for telling that story,” Rosenbach said, laughing. “He’s a freshman. He falls off him and the kid goes and scores. He just ran 65 yards and then didn’t make the tackle. We got to see something really special and then we got to see his youth.”
His coaches and teammates gave him some good-natured ribbing afterward, but the takeaway was clear: This guy can fly.
Now a junior, Merriweather is one of the state’s most highly-coveted high school football recruits. Considered a four-star recruit by 247sports.com and the No. 2 recruit in the state in the 2022 class, Merriweather holds a handful of offers from major college football programs, including USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, UW and others.
Merriweather came into Union High (Camas, Wash.) with expectations already surrounding him. But it wasn’t because of anything he did as a middle school football player. The bar had been set by his older sisters, Jai’lyn and Dai’lyn. The twins were track stars at Union, where they graduated in 2017. They currently sprint for the University of Oklahoma.
In high school, the Merriweather twins won a combined six individual state titles in sprints, plus a pair of relay wins with times that set state records.
“When they were there, everyone knows them,” Tobias Merriweather said. “I walk into a class and there’s a certain expectation. My peers had an expectation of the level I should play at because of the legacy being left for me. I’ve always been up to the challenge. I still look up to them. They’re the reason I want to go to college.”
From his sisters, Merriweather said he learned the art of preparing for high-level competition.
“Just to take prehab and rehab seriously, to persevere through whatever,” he said. “Their senior year at state, they had some soft tissue injuries. They pulled through and still got their medals.”
Merriweather was part of Union’s Class 4A state championship team as a freshman, but wasn’t yet one of the team’s top players. He came into high school around 145 pounds.
“He was a toothpick,” Rosenbach said. “You go back and look at (film) from the 2018 team, and it’s like, ‘Who is that grasshopper with these twig legs?’”
He’s since put on about 40 pounds since his freshman year; he weighs around 185 now and has filled out his frame. He feels it’ll translate to his game his junior season this spring, and in his senior year for Union.
“First of all, just to protect my body with more weight on me,” he said. “I think it’s a big difference. I can do more things for our offense. I can catch screens, take the hits that I need to.”
The added size makes it a scary proposition for defenders to try to slow Merriweather down. Already, he was an elite deep threat. Now, he’s rounding out his game. As a sophomore, he caught 43 passes for 766 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 17.8 yards per reception. Those numbers figure to jump even higher with a full-length season his senior year.
“There were four or five routes I felt good about him running as a sophomore,” Rosenbach said. “He can run the whole tree now. We didn’t get a clock on him last spring, but as a freshman, he ran 22.4 in the 200 (meter). He can fly. He just eats up ground with his stride length. He’s so long, he goes up and high points the ball. He has the fast twitch, the long speed, his frame is the prototype for what (colleges) are looking for.”
In addition to growing in stature, Merriweather has grown in confidence, too.
“I think when I was a freshman, I was just long, lanky,” he said. “I was pretty uncoordinated. I’ve grown into my body. I think I’m the best route runner in the nation. I can run any route. Put me on any route against a defender and I’ll get open.”
During spring track season, following his freshman football season, Merriweather was called into the school’s office. He wondered if he was in trouble. But there were college coaches waiting for him. He received his first two offers that day, from Nevada and Utah.
He visited a handful of west coast schools before the coronavirus pandemic hit, but he’s hoping to take more visits to different schools around the country when he’s able.
“The experience of seeing those games, making those trips with friends or family, it was just fun to meet those coaches and make those connections,” Merriweather said.
Merriweather said he doesn’t have a specific timeline on when he wants to make a commitment, but he isn’t a player that revels in all the attention and the time commitment of talking with different coaches constantly.
“Some guys like the recruiting process a little more than the game,” Rosenbach said. “He likes playing more than the process. He’d love to say, ‘Here’s where I’m going’ and be done with it. But he’s equally as engaging with the Alabamas of the world as he is with the Eastern Washingtons. He’s grateful, respectful, asks great questions.”
He hopes he’ll find a school and a program that will align with his vision.
“I’m looking for a team with a coaching staff that has the same dream for me that I have for myself: To play at the highest level,” Merriweather said. “I don’t want to go somewhere that belittles my dream. I want a family atmosphere, where we’re just clicking on all cylinders.”
NUGGETS-IN-WAITING — CLASS OF 2022
OT Josh Conerly, Jr., Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)
WR Tobias Merriweather, Union (Camas, Wash.)
LB Dishawn Misa, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.)
TE Ryan Otton, Tumwater (Tumwater, Wash.)
OT Malik Agbo, Todd Beamer (Federal Way, Wash.)
CB Kieran Collins, Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wash.)
LB Tristan Dunn, Sumner (Sumner, Wash.)
OG Dave Iuli, Puyallup (Puyallup, Wash.)
S Trejon Williams, Jefferson (Portland, Ore.)
WR Darrius Clemons, Westview (Portland, Ore.)
LB Emar’rion Winston, Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.)
LB Lamar Washington, Jefferson (Portland, Ore.)
TE Colston Loveland, Gooding (Gooding, Idaho)
