Antonio Meeks didn’t arrive at Wake Forest by taking the easy route. His path ran from Tuskegee to Louisville and then to Winston-Salem, a three-school journey that has given the redshirt senior plenty of time to learn, adjust and keep climbing.
Now the 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver from Las Vegas is one of the more experienced pieces in a Wake Forest offense that needs its wideouts to deliver more in 2026. He wasted little time showing why he matters, too, opening the season with three catches for 93 yards in a win over Akron, including a 72-yard touchdown. He was one of three Wake Forest receivers to find the end zone that night.
Meeks first made his name at Tuskegee, where he spent two seasons as one of the SIAC’s most dangerous big-play threats. His sophomore season was especially loud: 43 catches, 745 yards and five touchdowns, good for 17.4 yards per grab, one of the better marks in the conference. Along the way, he turned in a 179-yard game against Edward Waters, opened the year with 149 yards against Fort Valley State and strung together back-to-back games with a touchdown.
The move to Louisville brought him into the ACC, but the production came in smaller doses. He played in four games in 2024, then appeared in all 13 games last season, finishing with 17 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown in the bowl win over Toledo. He was part of the rotation, even if the volume never matched the upside.
That’s what makes Wake Forest such a fresh opportunity.
"I feel like every day is important," Meeks said. "Just the standard that Coach Dickert holds us to - you have to show up every day and give your all.
A scrimmage is no different than any other practice for me. It's all or nothing every day."
When asked if he felt he had checked the right boxes early in camp, he didn’t oversell it.
"There have been some plays, maybe two or three," he said. "But overall, the bigger picture, I feel like I've done my job and my role for sure."
That steady presence has carried over in the locker room, where teammates and coaches have noticed his voice as much as his play. Quarterback Gio Lopez and receiver Jack Foley have both pointed to Meeks as a veteran influence helping younger players in a receiver group that suddenly matters even more with so many offensive pieces gone from last year’s nine-win team.
Wake Forest also has more depth at receiver than it has had in some past seasons. Carlos Hernandez, Foley, Kam Shanks, Chase Tyler and others are in the mix for snaps, giving the Deacons options when a defense tries to take one thing away and force adjustments elsewhere.
"Football is a chess match," Meeks said. "You take what the defense gives you.
If they want to take away the middle, go where they're not. Just keeping it simple, not overthinking it, not doing too much.
You want to get to what you know and move the ball down the field."
He also gave a blunt answer when asked whether offensive players get as fired up for full-contact practice situations as the defense does.
In Other News...
Deuce Alexander Just Gave Ole Miss A New Deep Threat
Deuce Alexander arrived at Ole Miss in 2025 after two seasons at Wake Forest, and the senior receiver has already given the Rebels a jolt as a vertical threat. His college career has been on a steady climb, and his latest performance showed why the staff wanted him in the fold. The son of former NFL player Hilton Alexander, he has brought speed and a growing sense of timing to an offense that can now stretch the field in a hurry.
Against Louisville, Alexander turned that ability into a game-changing burst, hauling in two 62-yard touchdown receptions. For a receiver who spent his first two seasons developing in Winston-Salem, nights like this are the payoff, proof that his game has translated to a bigger stage. The bigger question for Ole Miss now is how much more damage he can do once defenses start adjusting to the new deep threat they just found. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Road Trips Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Wake Forests road schedule carries a little extra texture this season, because not every visiting venue offers the same kind of Saturday experience. Louisville brings a modern setup with individual chairback seats, SMU has built a reputation around its Boulevarding tailgate scene, Cals Memorial Stadium can swing dramatically depending on the crowd, Georgia Tech leans on the old-school feel of Bobby Dodd Stadium, and Purdue adds the kind of loyal fan base and gameday rituals that can make a trip feel bigger than the matchup itself.
For Demon Deacons fans, that means the away slate is as much about the setting as the opponent. Some stops are about tradition, some about noise, and some about the kind of atmosphere that changes from week to week, which is why these trips deserve a closer look before kickoff arrives. [Read more 🡒]