 "Photo: Andrew Lamberson")
The nickname began last June when Derek Meyer walked into the Hawks Center for his first workout as a member of the Nebraska football team.
“Is he one of the new players, or is that an assistant coach we got?” I-back Roy Helu Jr. quipped.
Next thing you know, teammates started acknowledging Meyer with variations of, “Hey Old Man, what’s going on?”
“Everybody thought that was just hilarious, and it stuck from the first day,” Meyer said.
“I’ve even got coaches calling me ‘Old Man.’ It’s all fun and games, but I’m sure I’ll have it until I’m out of here.”
The nickname is due in large part to Meyer’s hair: He started going bald in his senior year of high school.
“Old Man” also refers to the fact that the 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman is a bit of an anomaly in NU’s program – he’s a 22-year-old walk-on.
Meyer will have only one season to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing for the Cornhuskers, and offensive line coach Barney Cotton said Meyer has proved he deserves a shot at earning a starting spot this fall.
“He doesn’t play like an old man” Cotton said.
Meyer’s road to NU has been a long one. After playing 8-man football at Silver Lake High School, his college career began at Kansas State in 2005. Meyer redshirted his first season and played in five games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman.
But things didn’t feel right.
The retirement of coach Bill Snyder following the 2005 season stunned Meyer, and he admits he didn’t enjoy being at K-State as much in his first season with the new, Ron Prince-led coaching staff.
“Things just didn’t gel at all,” Meyer said. “I was getting pretty homesick. It seemed like every day, it was just a burden to get out of bed, go to school, go to workouts and go to practice. I felt it was time for a change.”
So Meyer went home to Campbell, Neb. He sat out of football for a year and began lining up plans for a new school and another shot at playing.
Meyer’s first offensive line coach at K-State, Bob Stanley, was now at Western Michigan. He knew Meyer was leaning towards transferring to San Diego State, so he asked Cotton to reach out to Meyer and put in a good word for the Broncos.
Once Cotton got in contact with Meyer, the idea of walking on at NU became a possibility.
“I have to give him a lot of credit for me being here today,” Meyer said of Stanley.
Playing for the Huskers was always something Meyer would do anything for. The Meyers have been season-ticket holders for the past 16 years, and he grew up watching games in Memorial Stadium.
When Meyer had to run onto the field in 2005 while donning a white and purple jersey, Meyer said he still got goosebumps despite being showered with boos.
The family attended NU’s 2003 Alamo Bowl win against Michigan State, and Meyer came away impressed by then-interim coach Bo Pelini. When Meyer heard Pelini was coming back to the program, he knew he wanted to play for him.
“Just seeing the fire he had and how the players rallied around him, that was another big reason I wanted to come here,” he said. “I knew he’d bring that back here, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
But joining NU would mean making a tough sacrifice. Big 12 Conference rules mandate that players making intraconference transfers must sit out two years.
Meyer could have gone to San Diego State or Western Michigan on a full-ride scholarship and played two seasons, but a chance to play for NU was too appealing to pass up.
“If money was an issue, we would’ve gone somewhere else,” he said. “But my parents understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and it didn’t take them a second later to say, ‘Go for it.’”
Meyer practiced against the No. 1 defense last fall as a member of the scout team and used the year off as a chance to prove himself to the new coaching staff. He did just that, earning scout team offensive co-MVP honors.
“He’s a great character guy and one of the most respected guys we have in our program,” Cotton said. “He’s a guy who knows he has a short window, and he’s always a great-effort guy. Everything he does, he does with one thing in mind, and that’s to have a great senior year.”
Meyer has had a full season and two off-seasons to prepare for this year. He’s ready to go out and continue to prove himself.
“I kind of feel like a freshman again,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”
After spending most of spring ball at right tackle, Meyer met with Cotton and agreed that his best shot at getting playing time would be at right guard.
Cotton said expected starter D.J. Jones has moved to right tackle, meaning Meyer will compete against junior Ricky Henry for the starting spot.
“I’m going to get a shot to play, and I’m going to do what I have to do to get on the field,” Meyer said.
There’s no doubt Meyer will want to be on the field Nov. 21.
It’ll be Senior Day. Meyer will run onto the field from the North Stadium, just as he did in 2005.
Kansas State will stand on the away team sidelines, led once again by Bill Snyder.
Only this time, Meyer will be wearing his red Nebraska jersey.
“It’s kind of funny how things work out in the end,” he said.
maxolson@dailynebraskan.com
