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Augie's Meyer: The complete package
Posted Online: Nov. 06, 2009, 9:25 pm
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By Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com
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For some college football players, spring drills can make or break a career. Use the time wisely and it can be a springboard to great things the following fall. Augustana's Eric Meyer had a little different take on that thought. Instead of focusing on football last spring, he had bigger things in sight as he spent nearly 4.5 months in Spain from January to May. As a result, the International Business and Spanish major missed all of spring drills, not to mention team-oriented weightlifting sessions. He also celebrated his 21st birthday while overseas. It obviously didn't hurt him once the pads went on in August. Meyer, a dynamic linebacker in defensive coordinator Rob Cushman's athletic group, is the Vikings' fourth-leading tackler with 46 solo stops. His first interception of the season last week ignited Augie's 42-14 victory over North Park. "He's the complete package,'' said a complimentary coach Jim Barnes. "He has high academic intelligence and high football intelligence as well. He runs very well, is thick and stout and strong. He's the type of guy who is going to play for just about everybody. Coach Cushman's defense is a thinking-man's defense and he can be at the hub of that wheel.'' "It was a really tough decision,'' said Meyer of opting for a spring in Spain over spring drills. "Coming into my senior year of football, I wanted to be the most prepared and crispest. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I've been taking Spanish classes since my freshman year in high school and just felt as if this was a culminating point, taking all my skills over there and developing them. "It's sad to say football ends, but that might be a skill I can use the rest of my life and had to take the leap.'' And while the Vikings are scratching for a long-shot post-season berth with two weeks left in the regular season, Meyer seems to have mastered the discipline to pull off the time away and make it work for him both academically and athletically. But it wasn't easy – on either front. He said that he lived with a family that did not speak any English, so his Spanish got a terrific workout. Thanks to teammates Andy Klink, a senior, and sophomore Alfonso Herrera. "We were continuously working out together,'' said Meyer. "There was a push there; it wasn't as big as what we had back home, but we still pushed each other and got really strong and got in shape over there.'' Meyer said he thought he wasn't "as crisp coming into camp on my reads and my coverage'' because of the lost spring drills, but felt he made up some of that by spending the summer in town and working out with teammates who also stayed. "We got to workout together and run together and talk about schemes and stuff and that helped me get back on page pretty quick,'' he said. Barnes felt there were no adverse affects of the lost spring. "Eric handled it as well as can be expected,'' said Barnes. "It's natural for a coach to want to keep players close and get the inertia that builds with a team in the offseason. ... We just have to accept what their ambitions are for life and then do the best we can. I think he came very much ready to go. If guys want to do an overseas venture again in the spring, I should have them talk to Eric as to how to get it done right.'' Still, it wasn't easy as he admits his heart was back here every day of spring drills. "I had Johnny Mago, a fellow linebacker, tell me how practices were going and who was making strides and who needed to work harder. I would put my two cents in,'' said Meyer. "I absolutely missed it. Working out with everybody and sweating is the best part of coming here -- building with each other. But it's something I had to miss.'' 
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