Quenton Meeks, the student ...
Why did you choose to major in sociology?
"I came in thinking I wanted to do something with the environment. I had an interest in global warming. Then I took Introduction to Sociology with Tomas Jimenez and fell in love with it. I realized, this is what I want to do. That's when I declared."
How can you best use this in the future?
"I want to start a non-profit to help underprivileged youth gain access to education and eventually go to college. In this country, that's the biggest thing that's missing: educational opportunities.
"I also chose sociology because it's another way to do business. You can structure your classes to have more of a business-type focus. I was really interested in network structures and building organizations. People look at business from the numbers side, but in sociology, you can look at it from the relational side and how people interact with each other. Without people, deals don't get done and organizations don't form."
What advice would you give for someone who wants to excel in athletics and academics?
"No. 1 is time management. That is the biggest thing. You have to sacrifice a lot. You might want to take a nap here, a rest there, but your schedule sometimes doesn't allow for that. You have to learn to push your body through those times. If I wait until tomorrow and add it to the things I already have to do, something's going to suffer -- either my sleep is going to suffer, football's going to suffer, or my classwork is going to suffer. The biggest thing is time management and getting stuff done early. The earlier the better."
Quenton Meeks, the athlete ...
How have you challenged yourself this year?
"I want to be not just the best defensive back in the nation, I want to be the best player in the nation. I feel that's the only way you can be great and accomplish things. Why put limits on yourself? Why say I can't be the best? I always had confidence in myself and always had the mentality to keep pushing and get better every day. I want to be so good that I dominate my opponent across from me. By the third or fourth play of the game, I want him to say, Wow, this is going to be a long game. That's how good I want to be. That's my approach to everything."
Defensive backs coach Duane Akina expects a lot of you from a mental standpoint. He's not going to lower the way he teaches or coaches. How does he challenge you from the intellectual side?
"That's what separates me as a player and our secondary from others in the country. We spend a lot of time on the mental side of the game. A lot of teams out there try to out-physical, outrun, and out-quick their opponent and might get beat because they're in bad positions.
"When I came in as a freshman, Coach Akina challenged us mentally and it was tough. Each week, we would change the coverage. As a freshman, you're like, OK, I got it down. Wait, we're changing it again? Then you're messing up and he's getting on you because you're not getting it fast enough. It challenges you and it stretches your capacity, but it's been good for all of us.
"With an NFL dad (Ron Meeks was an NFL assistant for 22 years), it was easier for me than others to understand the tactical side. But, I mean, my dad didn't go over all this with his high school son. He was just teaching me how to backpedal, right? Plant and break. My dad is another person I consider a guru. I'm blessed to have two, because I've learned so much from both."
What is the biggest thing you bring to the table?
"Passion. I grew up in football. I was born into it. I've been to Super Bowls. I've been around NFL players my entire life. It's really the only career I've seriously ever wanted to do. I feel like I was born to do it and I can use it to help change people's lives.
"I try to be the most energetic player on the field. If my teammates make a big play, I'm going to celebrate with them, I'm going to be just as excited as they are. When I make a play, I'm going to be excited and celebrate with my teammates. That mentality spreads throughout the team. I want my energy to flow through everybody. That's how it's been since high school and that's how I continue to be. I feel that's my biggest impact -- my passion that I bring."
What do you want people to know about Stanford football
"It's gritty. It's tough. It's nasty. It's smart. You've got to earn everything. You're not going to be handed anything.
"We have the most complex systems on offense and defense of any team in the country, and it's not even close. That's real. It takes a different type of player to play here. You just can't be an athlete and think you're going to play here. That's why Stanford has been such a successful program. It's not because we just out-athlete everybody, it's because we've been smarter, tougher, grittier, and we're going to punish you on the field.
"It's bred through Coach (Shannon) Turley's training in the off-season. It makes you gritty and tough and teaches you life lessons. Coach Turley really is the heart and soul of the team. If he's getting on you hard, you know that it's real, it's coming from wisdom. When you combine that with all the great coaches we have … That's why I want to be great so badly, because I want to show the entire country what Stanford is all about and how you should play football."