Rondell Christopher Mealey (born February 24, 1977) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Early life

Rondell Mealey was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and grew up in

Norco, Louisiana Norco is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,984 at the 2020 census. The community is home to a major Shell petroleum refinery. The CDP's name is derived from the New Orleans Refin ...

. He played high school football at

Destrehan High School Destrehan High School is a public high school located in Destrehan, Louisiana, United States and is approximately twenty-five miles west of New Orleans. It is part of the St. Charles Parish Public School System and serves all students on the eas ...

(

Destrehan, Louisiana Destrehan is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. Etymology The community is named after Jean Noël Destréhan (1754–1823), who was twice President of ...

) where he was a teammate of

NFL Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

safety

Ed Reed Edward Earl Reed Jr. (born September 11, 1978) is an American former football safety in the National Football League (NFL), spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, wher ...

College career

Mealey (#7) played collegiately for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

from 1995 to 1999. Mealey redshirted in 1995 and during his freshman season in 1996, rushed for 603 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 1997 during his sophomore season, Mealey rushed for 664 yards and scored 7 touchdowns. Following the regular season, Mealey put on a performance in the

1997 Independence Bowl The 1997 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl rematch between the LSU Tigers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Background The Tigers had finished 2nd in the Western Division of the SEC. The Irish went from 1–4 early in th ...

against Notre Dame that led to him being inducted into the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

Hall of Fame in June 2010. With LSU losing 6-3 at halftime, Mealey filling in for an injured

Kevin Faulk Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, rushed for 222 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead LSU to a 27-9 victory. During his junior season in 1997, Mealey continued to split carries with All-American Kevin Faulk. He was the second leading rusher on the team, rushing for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns. In 1998 as a senior offensive team captain and starting tailback, Mealy was the leading rusher on the team, rushing for 637 yards and 8 touchdowns. Mealey finished his career at LSU as the sixth-leading rusher in school history. His 29 rushing touchdowns tied for the fifth most in school history and his average of 4.9 yards per carry tied for the third best in school history.

College honors

*1996 Freshman All- SEC by the Knoxville News Sentinel *

Offensive MVP * 1999 National "L" Club Award * Member of the 1999

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

* Member of the 2000

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

* Member of the 2000

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

* Member of the

Hall of Fame Sources:

College statistics

Notes: * * Does not include bowl games

Pre-Draft

Professional career

Rondell Mealey was drafted in the seventh round (252nd pick overall) of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. As a Packer from 2000 to 2002, Mealey mainly served as a backup running back and played on special teams seeing playing time in 13 games over three seasons. He had his first NFL start in early September during the 2002 season. Mealey was placed on waivers by the Packers in late September 2002. Despite interest and tryouts for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, Mealey did not play professionally again after being released by the Packers.

NFL statistics

Sources:

Personal life

Mealey works for

Marathon Oil Marathon Oil Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration incorporated in Ohio and headquartered in the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston, Texas. A direct descendant of Standard Oil, it also runs international gas operations ...

in southern Louisiana.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mealey, Rondell 1977 births Living people People from Norco, Louisiana Players of American football from New Orleans American football running backs LSU Tigers football players Green Bay Packers players Destrehan High School alumni