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Tennessee&rsquo;s Meachem hasn&rsquo;t roped calves in a few years, but he&rsquo;s catching a lot of passes.


TAMPA, Fla. &mdash; Last year, for the first time in his life, Robert Meachem didn&rsquo;t enjoy watching football on television.
Especially during bowl week.
&ldquo;It was strange to be sitting at home,&rdquo; the Tennessee junior said Friday before the Outback Bowl&rsquo;s annual Teams&rsquo; Luncheon at the Tampa Convention Center. &ldquo;It certainly wasn&rsquo;t a good feeling. I mean, we were used to playing in bowl games, not watching them.&rdquo;
Instead of dwelling on the negatives of last year&rsquo;s out-of-character 5-6 record, Meachem chose to use it as motivation for 2006.
It&rsquo;s paid off handsomely.
The Tulsa, Okla., native rebounded from an admittedly disappointing personal &rsquo;05 campaign to help a proud Volunteers&rsquo; program regain its place among major college football&rsquo;s elite. Heading into Monday&rsquo;s meeting with Penn State, 17th-ranked Tennessee is 9-3 after winning seven of its last nine games.
Along the way, Meachem has etched his name into the team&rsquo;s record books.
The dynamic 6-foot-3, 210-pound player set a school season record with 1,265 receiving yards on 67 receptions this year. His 11 touchdowns are the third-most ever by a Vols receiver in a single season, and he is the sixth receiver in UT history to top the 2,000-yard career mark.
The soft-spoken Meachem is the first Vol wide out to earn All-America honors since Carl Pickens in 1991.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s good, probably the best we&rsquo;ll see this year,&rdquo; Penn State corner Justin King said.
&ldquo;He makes plays,&rdquo; boasted quarterback Erik Ainge.
&ldquo;I think Robert&rsquo;s one of the most dynamic football players in the country,&rdquo; head coach Phil Fulmer added, &ldquo;and we certainly have leaned on him at times this year.&rdquo;
Meachem clearly is tough enough to handle the load.
But then, cowboys usually are.
Growing up on his family&rsquo;s spacious ranch in Tulsa, Meachem became accustomed to being around 1,000-plus-pound animals. Heck, next to an agitated steer, one of those mean ol&rsquo; SEC linebackers are a piece of cake.
&ldquo;A cowboy&rsquo;s job is just as dangerous as a football player,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You watch those guys riding those bulls or riding those broncos or steer ... those three things can kill you.
&ldquo;It looks insane, but a lot of people say football looks insane, too. A lot of people think you just put on the pads and let somebody hit you. That&rsquo;s what my dad always said.&rdquo;
The college experience has taken him away from the ranch. Meachem, 22, admitted his last roping adventure came when he was in the 10th grade &ndash; and that was limited to calves.
 But the cowboy lifestyle still surges through his veins, so much so that he hopes to one day return to the ranch for good. &ldquo;When I was younger growing up it was beautiful,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But now it&rsquo;s all beaten down and worn out. I would love to go back and fix it up and have it looking beautiful again for my family.&rdquo;
For the time being, Meachem is content to keep doing his thing on the football field. And Volunteer coaches and fans are keeping their fingers crossed that he&rsquo;s back in Knoxville to do it all over again next season.
Meachem hasn&rsquo;t made up his mind on his gridiron future as of yet. The big decision won&rsquo;t be made until after the Outback Bowl. A big performance against the Nittany Lions at Raymond James Stadium, however, would surely solidify his status with NFL scouts and translate to a big payday at the next level.
Still, Robert Meachem&rsquo;s thinking more orange than green these days.
&ldquo;We want to finish this season on a high note,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re known as &lsquo;Wide Receiver U,&rsquo; so I&rsquo;m happy that I was an All-American. 
&ldquo;It shows everybody that the &lsquo;U&rsquo; is coming back.&rdquo;
up next


OUTBACK BOWL


No. 17 Tennessee vs. Penn State

11 a.m. Monday
Raymond James Stadium
in Tampa, Fla.

TV: ESPN
&#8194;

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