Meester talks leadership, football career at BCLUW

Football was Brad Meester’s third favorite sport as a kid.
 
The former Aplington-Parkersburg, University of Northern Iowa and Jacksonville Jaguars standout stuck with it, however, and he got really, really good in the process, defying the odds as an undersized offensive lineman who played 14 seasons in the NFL. Meester, who grew up on a farm south of Parkersburg, spoke to students at the BCLUW Elementary School in Conrad on Monday morning about how he got there, the value of hard work and his life beyond football.
 
“By peer pressure from some of my friends—good peer pressure—they talked me into going out (for football),” he said. “I went out, and I really started to love it.”
 
Meester excelled at A-P under legendary coach Ed Thomas, helping to lead the Falcons to a state title in 1993 and earning all-state honors as a senior, but he had one big problem heading into college: at 220 pounds, he wasn’t considered big enough to play offensive line at the major Division I level. Iowa and Iowa State weren’t interested, and Meester decided to take a chance on a half scholarship offer at nearby UNI, the only school that gave him an opportunity.
 
By his senior year, Meester was a Division I-AA All-American who started every game of his career at left guard and then center after redshirting for a season, and he was inducted to both the UNI and Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Halls of Fame in 2014. 
 
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