Shawne Merriman Relives The Moment He Was Drafted Into The NFL And Which Team Told Him They Were Drafting Him, But Didn't

grew up in a very lower class home. We didn't have much and then boom, one day somebody calls your name and it changes your life. But I kind of rewind it a little bit before then. Um, I just told you guys, I grew up in Maryland and and we grew up tough. We didn't have much, if anything at all at some point in time. And to even uh fathom someone calling your name on national TV to draft you and to uh, you know, get behind you that much financially. I mean they pay these guys, you know,

big contracts. Um one University of Maryland, and so I used to watch a lot of the older guys, especially the ones I knew coming into University of Maryland my freshman and watched them get drafted, and I would call them and say, man, what you know, what's it like? What's it like from to call your name? And UM, yeah, I see, I've seen players and parents and family and friends crying, and You're like, man, come on, guys, it's

just you know, what's all the crying for? And then uh, you realize you get to that day and you're the one crying. Your family's crying. Went to Maryland three years, left school early. UM. A fun fact, I'll tell you guys this my sophomore year in two thousand four. UM, I'm not sure if you remember or not, but Maurice Clarette and Mike Williams were petitioning to um, you know,

leave school or sophomores. And if they would have uh got that rule lifted or that band or whatever you wanna call it lifted so they can go and uh leave school early. I I probably would have tried to leave school my sophomore year. It was definitely a discussion, uh in the head coach's office that there was a possibility. Luckily I didn't go to Maurice Clarette and Mike Williams route because they weren't able, wasn't able to come back to school. I believe they got agents and and they

had already crossed the lines. And um, you know, they had a rule ant double a. Once you get an agent, you can't go back. So they sat out a year. But if that rule would have passed, I I just might have would have went my sophomore year. I was, I was ready, you know. I think I had an opportunity to get drafted somewhere in the first three rounds and that sounded good for me. But anyway, you know,

decided to leave school early. And it was a big decision really, Um, you know, not starting for two years. I mean I go back and I tell people all the time when I talk about my time in Maryland, and I say, hey, I played a lot my first two years, but I didn't start until my junior year. Uh. And as soon as I got on the field, you know,

it was it was lights out. Literally. Once you uh, you know, sending your draft grade to the NFL and and and your paperwork they basically tell you as a junior um they come back to you with a draft grade. They'll have you know, first round or top fifteen, top twenty, and you submit basically to the general managers and the scouts, and they come back with a draft grade. My draft grade came back, uh somewhere in the early first round.

And I knew that once I got an opportunity to go through the combine and uh show what I can do physical and just show my physical attributes, and I knew I was gonna have a chance to jump up even higher. And it happened just like that. I was blessed and fortunate to have that opportunity. But it's scary, you know. You you look at these guys in the NFL and you start to maybe question yourself a little bit, are you ready to go? And uh, am I gonna get drafted in the top ten like they said I will?

Am I gonna slide to the second round? Third round? You just don't know. Uh. I was offered to come to the NFL draft, and uh, you know I passed on it. Seeing all those guys who sat there for some time hours with a camera in their face, and uh, you know, they were expected to go somewhere in the top fifteen and end up going second, sometimes mid to late second or even third round, depending on what happens. So I declined to go. I rented a big house

back in Maryland. So my my family and my friends, my high school coaches, boys and girls club coaches, uh Forge boys and Girls Club back in Prince Georg's County, Maryland, we all came. We all went. But let me tell you a funny story. So initially everyone thought I was gonna go to the Cowboys. So I took I took a few visits. Uh when I you know, when it

was time for the visit the teams. I took your visit to the the Reds of what at the time watching risk and now known as a washing the football team, but the Washington football team, uh, the Lions, San Diego, Dallas, and I believe Miami, the Dolphins. So I get to my trip and dot to Dallas to Dallas Cowboys. We get there, we land, we go straight to the facility. Well, it's about fifteen or twenty first round prospects in the

locker room. So we're all together, We're all, you know, talking to each other, meeting each other for the first time. I'm meeting a lot of these guys for the first time because all I have is all I just watch them on TV. So this is my first time get a chance to see them in person. So we're kind of down there. I see all the guys is potentially going in the first round, and I get a top on my shoulders and it was someone that some personnel

to work for the Dallas Cowboys. They come down to top of me and say, hey, Jerry Jones and Bill Parcels want to see you upstairs. So, you know, the first thing that comes to my man mind is, Okay, what did I do? What did I do wrong? Why didn't they come to grab anybod to else? Right? And uh So, anyway, they wanted to see me upstairs. I go and follow the player personnel Guyles, the guy who

worked for the team. I follow him upstairs, went to uh Bill Parcels office and Jerry Jones is in there, and you know, so I sit down and the seat I'm right across from Big Tuna for the first time, and I've heard all about him and heard you know, Lawrence Taylor talked about him and all these great players he's coached, and uh these awards and just I mean, this is this is the Big Tuna. This is Bill Parcels.

I'm in the office with as a twenty year old kid at the time, and I'm sitting across from him, and also Jerry Jones. So you know, of course, you know, being a kid, you're intimidated. You don't want to say the wrong thing, you don't want to say anything at all. So I just kind of sitting there and listening and bobbing my head and shaking it up and down. Bill Parcels tell me and say, look, Fox Sports Radio has

the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live. We don't think you're gonna be there. They had the eleven pick it up the two thousand five draft. We don't think you're gonna be there by the eleventh pick. But if you are, we're gonna draft you. And so, you know, my head, I'm thinking like, wow,

I'm gonna be a Dallas Cowboy. And anyone know that if you're from the DC Marylan, Virginia area, either a Washington football team fan or you're a Dallas Cowboy fan. And that's it. No other team Dallas Cowboys in the Washington football team. These are only two teams that you're a fan of. So I'm gonna make some members and some side of my family extremely happy by being being a Dallas cowboy. So I'm sitting there and I'm excited. I turned blood shot red because I can't believe he's

telling me like he's telling me. But he stopped for a moment after that, and Bill part. Bill Parcel said, but when you get here, we're gonna work the dog shit out of you. And I went from this happiness and and smiling from in the air and and wanting to just run around the room happy to hell. No, I don't want to come here, you know, um, And you know I love tough coaches. I played for many of them over the course of my career from high

school on college and then the pro. I may played for tough coaches, but you gotta think that's pretty intimidating if you're a twenty year old kid. You go somewhere in the first going somewhere in the first round, and you you can land any one in the thirty two teams, and here you got, uh. Bill Parcel is one of the greatest coaches of all time. Sitting across from you're telling he's gonna work the dog shit out of here. So, uh, you know, I shook my head and I said, okay, thanks, coach,

I appreciate it. Can't wait to work, you know, I said all the right at that point, you say all the right things. So I go back downstairs and I'm shaking their hand and we talked about thirty or forty five minutes. I go back downstairs and I started texting my family and I said, hey, guys, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be a Dallas Cowboy player. I'm pretty sure

that Dallas Cowboy was gonna draft me. Now that year, uh you know, they had Cleveland Browns at three, which they went with Braylan Netwards um, and they had I believe the Minnesota Vikings, but they went with Troy Williamson, the fast wide receiver out of South Carolina. I believe it was he had. Then they went, uh, Mike Williams at the Lions and then the leventh pick. So now

I'm I'm back in Maryland. I'm with my family, friends, high school coaches already told everybody I'm gonna be a Dallas Cowboy because I said, look, if I slide to the leventh pick of the draft, they already told me. They told me that I'm gonna be a Dallas Cowboy, So you know, just get ready. And I look around and you know, my family have Dallas Cowboy hats. They have Merriman Dallas Cowboy jerseys. And that's that. There's no

other team team's jersey or hats in the house. So the leven pick come and they're on the clock and everybody's getting ready, And with the leventh pick of the two thousand five NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys go with DeMarcus Where. And when I tell you, you can here a pen dropping the room. I mean, it was a moment of silence. You would have thought somebody had just passed away. And let me tell you, this is no knock against the Marcus. DeMarcus Where's a bona fide Hall

of Famer. They didn't make a mistake. I mean, you know, DeMarcus Ware's the ball, and we also remain close friends throughout our time. Now, but there was also always some competition there, but I'll get to that in a second. Uh So, anyway, they go with de Marcus Ware. Now, when I took my visit to the charges, I sat down, I flew out there. And mind you, I've never been on the West coast. I've never seen palm trees in person. I never saw an ocean that blew. I mean, the

whole nine. I mean, I'm I'm I'm d C Merll of Virginia. I'm used to the city and I'm used to that that life. And so for the first time, I'm flying over to San Diego. Now I met with flying to the team. I met with general manager at the time, A J. Smith. A J. Smith tells me the same thing that Bill Parcels and Jerry Jones tells me, we don't think you're gonna be here about the twelve pick,

but if you are, we're gonna draft you. So since the Dallas Cowboys already passed me up, I'm you know, I've already heard the same thing from uh now two gms. I'm thinking also that the at the time, the San Diego Charge is gonna pass on me too. So it's still complete silence in this room. I get a phone call, My phone rings, and so wow, I'm like, okay, I'm going to the charges. It was one of my best friends asking me, was the draft live? Listen When I

tell you I was level ten mad. I couldn't believe that. He called me on drafted to asked me was the draft live? And was I watching it? Like you fool, I'm getting drafted? What are you talking about? I couldn't hang up the phone fast enough. About thirty seconds after I hang up the phone, my phone rings again. So now I'm thinking that he the call back because he's mad, and I hung up on him or to Another friend asked me the same ridiculous, dumb question. I answered the phone.

I said hello, and he said Sean. Sean Merriman said, I said, yeah, who's this? This is Marty Schottenheimer. And from right there, my heart just dropped. I mean literally, I felt like I was gonna think. And he said, hey, are you ready to be at San Diego Charger? I said, coach, are you ready to draft me? You said, yeah, we're about to pull the trigger. We're gonna do it right now.

And you know, I go back and I laugh at me watching the draft growing up as a kid at the at the at the guy's crying, the family and friends and all that other stuff, and you know, I I got choked up and I held it in and

I walked out. I took about three or four steps away, and I got closer to the TV, and I turned my back to the room and I was looking at TV and not just bawled, I bought because you do realize that that day that you've been watching since you were, you know, nineteen years old, playing playing football, playing sports, that that day is going to be your day. And so and like why, I tell a lot of guys it is a life changer, not just for you, but

your family, your friends, and everybody else around you. It's a special day. So I tell these guys this, Um, you know, take the moment, take it in. And I just got off the phone here with a couple of guys getting drafted. Here soon take it in. It's one of it's gonna be one of the best days of your life. But also remember this, it's not where you're drafted, it's what you do when you get there. So that's

just a fun story for me. Um, I was fortunate enough to even have the opportunity to get drafted by the Charges. For one, I just believe the San Diagles one of the greatest places on earth. But too, I went to a team full of Hall of famers, full of them great, great guys, great teammates, and it really was a blessing. So that's my story on a draft. Good luck to all you guys out there just getting drafted. Take it in, enjoy your day. It's one of the

best days of your life living up. Thanks guys for listening in to another lights Out podcast with me Sean Raymond. And um, that's that. That was my draft story. And and I kind of went back down memory lane and and and start backtracking and everything that happened during that time. Um, but it really is. It's one of the greatest moments

of your life. And you'll never forget it. You you won't forget what you were wearing, you won't forget who was there, who said, what who did was because it is that much of a life changing So thank you guys for listening to another lights Out podcast with me Sean Raymond. Um, keep listening and keep leaving those reviews, man, keep subscribing. I read them. I try to apply to a lot of you guys. But um, we'll be back next week.