Four years ago, Derek Meyer ran onto the field of Memorial Stadium for the first time.
He’d always dreamed of playing in the stadium and in front of the Sea of Red while growing up in Campbell, Neb, so it didn’t matter to Meyer that fans were booing his team. The fact he was wearing white and silver didn’t make a difference to him either.
On Saturday, the senior offensive lineman will walk onto the field for the last time in his long career.
“I’m glad I’ll be wearing red this time,” he said with a smile.
Meyer began his career at Kansas State and will see his time in college come full circle this weekend when Nebraska takes on the Wildcats.
“It’s definitely funny and ironic how things have turned out,” he said.
On top of it all, when Meyer looks across the field at the K-State sideline, he’ll once again see the coach who he intended to spend his career playing for, the coach who took a chance on him coming out of high school.
“It’ll be a little emotional; it’ll be different seeing that jersey in the stadium again.” Meyer said. “It adds a little more emotion to it. I never thought he’d come back, and when he did, that definitely adds something to it.”
Meyer opted to cross rivalry lines and accept a scholarship from Kansas State coach Bill Snyder when he went unrecruited by NU’s former coaching staff.
When Snyder announced his retirement three days after that NU game in 2005, Meyer was stunned.
“He was a huge reason why I went there,” Meyer said. “Even though it was the enemy team, it was a Big 12 school, and saying I could play for a Hall of Famer in Coach Snyder was a big selling point.”
It was his connection with Snyder and his staff that made it hard for Meyer to stay in Manhattan and play for new coach Ron Prince.
Though he played in five games at tackle as a redshirt freshman in Prince’s first year, things “didn’t gel the same way,” and he opted to transfer in August 2007. Landing a spot on Nebraska’s roster meant sitting out two seasons and having to pay for his classes last year, but such sacrifices didn’t bother Meyer.
“I have no regrets at all. I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he said. “It’s definitely been everything I was hoping it would be.”
In his lone season of eligibility, Meyer has three starts at left guard and has played in five more as the backup for Keith Williams. He hasn’t received the playing time he expected entering the season, but offensive line coach Barney Cotton said Meyer has never made an issue of it.
“He’s a guy who comes to work every day and doesn’t know if he’s going to get in the game or not,” Cotton said. “After a game, I said to him, ‘Geez, I would have liked to get you in.’ He says, ‘We won the game.’ He’s a refreshing attitude guy that’s a team guy all the way.”
Teammates call Meyer “Old Man” and tease him about going bald, but center Jacob Hickman said the 22-year-old has been a welcome addition to NU’s offensive line.
“He’s come in, brought some experience and brought a lot of hard work,” Hickman said. “In the summer workouts, he became a guy out in front, really becoming a senior leader that was huge on a class that’s so small. He’s been real good for the team.”
Though he hasn’t spoken with Snyder since the 70-year-old coach took over in November 2008, Meyer said Snyder has reached out to him since returning to the game. First, Snyder sent a text message in the winter to say happy holidays to Meyer and his family. After NU returned to Lincoln following its bowl win over Clemson, Meyer found a letter in his locker from the coach.
“He was wishing me good luck and telling me he’d look forward to seeing me in the fall,” Meyer said. “That’s just the kind of person he is. He’s a real genuine guy, he really cares about the players he’s coaching and the ones who used to play for him. He’s a real good guy with a good heart.”
Last season, Meyer met up with some old friends and watched his Huskers top K-State from the Wildcats’ student section.
“I was decked out in my red. There was maybe three of us (Husker fans) down there in the section, but we were some of the loudest ones for sure,” Meyer said with a grin.
On Saturday, he’ll get a chance to wind down his Husker career in the jersey he’d always hoped to wear growing up, and his sacrifice will have paid off.
“I’m glad to be here. This is home,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. This is definitely something I’m very proud of, and I’m going to cherish every second of it.”
maxolson@dailynebraskan.com
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