Rondell Mealey

Rondell Christopher Mealey is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League. He played college football for the LSU Tigers.

Early life

Rondell Mealey was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in Norco, Louisiana. He played high school football at Destrehan High School where he was a teammate of NFL Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed.

College career

Mealey played collegiately for the Tigers at Louisiana State University 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 against Notre Dame that led to him being inducted into the Independence Bowl Hall of Fame in June 2010. With LSU losing 6-3 at halftime, Mealey filling in for an injured Kevin Faulk, 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
1997 Independence Bowl Offensive MVP
1999 National "L" Club Award
Member of the 1999 Blue–Gray Football Classic
Member of the 2000 East–West Shrine Game
Member of the 2000 Senior Bowl
Member of the Independence Bowl Hall of Fame

Sources:

College statistics

Notes:

* Does not include bowl games
Pre-Draft

Professional career

Rondell Mealey was selected in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. 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, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mealey did not play professionally again after being released by the Packers.

NFL statistics