UAB’s Merriweather OVERCOMES Narcolepsy to succeed for blazers

Photo by Ken Shepherd

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 9 2024

Miquon Merriweather’s official scholarship offer from UAB came during his senior year at Carver High in Columbus, Georgia. He was in school at the time.

Before that moment, perhaps the biggest program showing interest was FCS member East Tennessee State. He had interest from Division II schools but recruiting was frustrating. He was told he was undersized. He was told he didn’t play with enough energy. He was told he wasn’t talented enough. It might not have come this directly, but he was basically told he wasn’t a Division I football player.

Then, in a dream come true moment, he was told he was wanted by a FBS coach.

Merriweather took a detour on his way back to class.

“I didn’t tell nobody this, but I went into the bathroom at school and started crying,” said Merriweather. 

Football runs in his family. His father is a former linebacker at Arkansas State. His older brother is set to enter his third season at the University of West Georgia. His younger brother will play his senior season at Carver High this fall.

His dream was to play Division I football like his father. There was a time, long before his recruitment began, when he wondered if that would be possible.

When Merriweather was in the third grade, he “noticed I would fall asleep out of nowhere.” That summer, he went in for a series of tests.

“It’s called a sleep test,” Merriweather said. “They hook wires up to your brain, your chest. They let you sleep through the night to see if you wake up or sleep through the whole night. For a whole day, they see if you are going to fall asleep or stay awake the whole day. It was scary. At the same time, I had my mother comforting me.  I knew everything was going to be alright when she was there.”

Merriweather was diagnosed with narcolepsy.

“The fear, for me, of being narcoleptic was not being able to play sports,” said Merriweather, who said he thinks he was 10 years old at the time. 

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes people to be drowsy at all hours of the day. People living with narcolepsy fall asleep suddenly, which often interrupts the daily routine. While the exact cause of the disorder is unknown, according to MayoClinic.org, it is thought that genetics plays a role. However, according to the website, the risk of a parent passing it on to a child is only 1 to 2 percent. Merriweather said his father is narcoleptic but no one else in the family has the disorder.

After the diagnosis, Merriweather said it was a matter of trial and error in getting his medication right to help him be successful. He learned quickly that it was best if he didn’t try to do everything by himself.

“At first, I was scared to tell (my teachers and coaches) because I just wanted to be a regular student,” Merriweather said. “At the same time, if I didn’t tell them it wasn’t going to help me be a good student in class.”

The toughest time, he said, came during his sophomore year at Carver High when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. Trying to do schoolwork at home, in a comfortable environment, wasn’t conducive to learning. He said a boost in the medicine dose helped him stay awake.

On the field, he was an important part of a Georgia AAAA state runner-up in 2021 and helped his team to a 9-3 record as a senior in 2022.

When he arrived at UAB, the coaches were unaware of his narcolepsy. He fell asleep in team and position meetings. He fell asleep in the training room. He fell asleep if he sat down while waiting in line.

“At first, I just thought he was being lazy,” said defensive line coach Miguel Patrick. “I didn’t think he was getting enough sleep at night. I thought he was either on his phone or on his game. It would be in the meetings in the morning. He would not be able to survive through those meetings. He was falling asleep every single morning. That’s going to affect him taking notes during the meeting, (being coached) in the meeting, all that stuff. As we found out what was going on with him, that’s when we began helping him.”

Standing up during the meetings is helpful. Patrick also doesn’t turn the lights all the way down while watching film.

“What I do is I make sure I pay extra attention to him during our meeting time,” Patrick said.

Merriweather is also conscious of putting himself in position to avoid falling asleep at the wrong time, both on and off the field. He said he informs his professors of his narcolepsy at the beginning of each semester. Remaining active when he is doing football activities is helpful, Merriweather said. His adrenaline keeps him going during games, but he still remains active when not on the field.

When he does fall asleep, Merriweather said, it is easy to wake him. A slight nudge or door closing nearby will do the trick, he said.  Merriweather smiles when asked if his teammates take pictures of him while sleeping in the UAB Football Operations Building. He then pulls up his phone and shares several of those pictures. He said he often falls asleep sitting in front of his locker after practice. Post-practice treatment in the training room, he said, generally puts him to sleep.

Meetings, he admits, aren’t easy.

“It’s very difficult because you don’t know when it’s going to come,” Merriweather said. “When you’re sitting down, you’re already comfortable in the chairs in there. One minute you’re looking at the board, one minute you’re dozing off. What I’ve come up with is I’m standing up in the film meeting rooms now, trying to pay more attention.”

Through all of that, though, Merriweather has adapted, persevered and performed well earlier than expected.

Merriweather was penciled in as a redshirt when fall camp opened last August. But a funny thing happened on his way to a redshirt. He quietly convinced the coaches that they find a spot for him in the rotation.

“First and foremost, he came in and he put the work in,” Patrick said.

He improved daily throughout fall camp. He made plays against the first offense. He listened and learned. He put himself in position to help when needed. Merriweather got his first game action in a home loss to Louisiana but it’s what he did the following week that showed Patrick that Merriweather was ready to help.

“The biggest thing was at the end of the Georgia game,” Patrick said of the early season game against a Bulldog team that was coming off back-to-back national championships and was the top ranked team in the country at the time. “Of course, it’s scrap time. We’re down big, I send the young pups out there. He made about four or five plays in that second half. I said this kid has got a chance.”

Merriweather, who was credited with two solo tackles at Georgia, played in the remaining eight games with a start against South Florida. He finished the season with 11 tackles. After a good spring practice, the 6-foot-1, 300-pound Merriweather is set to play a bigger role on an improved defensive front.

Along the way, he can also be an inspiration.

“Sometimes, I feel like it’s scary for me to tell my story,” Merriweather said. “It’s personal and I feel like it shouldn’t be told to somebody. At the same time, it could help somebody. Any person might have it and they might not know.”