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Steve Martin interviews Bret Meyer
Interviewed on: Friday, July 21st, 2006 Steve Martin: Bret, thanks so much for calling back! Do you have the time to do the interview right now? Bret Meyer: Yes sir. SM: Well, I really appreciate it, man. Can we start by having you give me an accurate height and weight? BM: I am 6'3" and I weight 208 pounds. SM: What is your forty time? BM: I ran a 4.63 recently. SM: Wow, that is moving pretty good Bret. What kind of surface was that on? BM: It was indoors on field turf. SM: So you are just as fast as Vince Young. I was telling your roommate (WR Todd Blythe) last week that I like you better than Young as a quarterback because you are much more accurate as a passer. BM: Thank you. That's a great compliment. SM: How many bench reps can you do, Bret? BM: I don't really know. We don't work that way. SM: Do you know what your bench max is? BM: No, I am not really sure.
SM: OK...what about your squat? BM: We just did those. I was doing 2 reps at 315. SM: Do you know what your verticle jump is it? BM: No, I'm not sure. SM: Can you dunk? BM: Oh yes, pretty easily. SM: I see your parents' names are Dan and Beth. Do either of them still work? BM: Yes sir, my mother is a nurse and my father drives truck? SM: Over-the-road 18-wheelers? BM: Yes. SM: Do you have any brothers or sisters, Bret? BM: Yes. I have two older sisters. Mindy is 29, and Danny is 23, and an older brother, Mikadd who is 27. SM: Is Danny short for Danielle? BM: No, just Danny. SM: Do you have any nieces or nephews? BM: Yes. Mindy and Danny each have one little girl. SM: Well congratulations, Uncle Bret! BM: Thank you. SM: So when did you first start playing football, Bret...what kind of a league was it? BM: We didn't have Pop Warner here. We had just flag football starting around the time I was 10 or 11. I played that for a couple of years and then went straight to middle school ball. SM: What was the name of your middle school? BM: Atlantic Middle School. SM: Did they have separate teams for the 7th and the 8th graders, or...? BM: No, just one team. SM: What was your position that first year? BM: I started at wide receiver that first year. In fact, I played mostly wide receiver up until my freshman year. I was also in for a few plays at quarterback. SM: Did you play any defense at all? BM: I didn't really want to play defense, bu t I was also a free safety. SM: When you got to Atlantic High School for your freshman year, were you on the freshman team, or...? BM: Yes. That was the year I was switched to quarterback full time. I was the starting quarterback for the freshman team. SM: How big a school is Atlantic High? BM: It is a 3A school...we had about 150-200 in my graduating class. SM: How big a town is Atlantic, Iowa? BM: Around 8-9000 people. SM: How did your teams do while you were at Atlantic? BM: We were 5-4 my sophomore year, 7-2 my junior year and we went 13-0 and won the state 3A championship my senior year. SM: That's right. I remember seeing that on the website. What other sports did you play in high school? BM: I played basketball, baseball and ran track. SM: Did you start in basketball? BM: I started varsity from my sophomore year on. SM: At what position, Bret? BM: I was a "2" or a "3". SM: What was your best year statistically as a basketball player? BM: My junioe year, I would say. I averaged around 15-16 points per game. SM: What position did you play in baseball? BM: I was a centerfielder and I pitched. SM: Were you a starter or a reliever? BM: I did a little of each. SM: And what were your events in track? BM: I was on the 4x4, the 4x2 and I did the long jump. SM: What was your best long jump? BM: 21 foot-something... SM: Wow, that's a very good number for high school! BM: Thank you. SM: When did you start hearing from college recruiters, and was it all about football? BM: I was before my senior year when the football schools started contacting me. I did hear a little from the smaller schools for baseball and basketball. SM: What football schools recruited you? BM: Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Kansas State. SM: Did you attend any of those elite summer camps? BM: Just the Iowa State camp. SM: So how did it come down to Iowa State for you? BM: Well, I already knew Todd (Blythe--Iowa St. WR) pretty well, because we played baseball against each other...I also liked the coaches there pretty well. SM: Did you take any official visits? BM: I did, yes...but only to Iowa State. You see, the other four schools never actually offered, and Iowa State did, so I had actually already signed with them before I went on my official visit. SM: I see you redshirted in '03, right? BM: Yes, sir. SM: And you were given the scout team MVP award four times. Was that a weekly honor? BM: Yes. SM: And then, as RS freshman you came right in and did amazingly well...3rd team Freshman All America by TSN...offensive MVO, almost 2000 yards passing...good stuff, Bret! BM: Thank you. SM: Then last year you did even better...62% completion percentage...almost 3000 yards, and a nice 19/10 TD/interception ratio. That brings me back to that comment I made to Todd about you. As opposed to some quarterbacks with your kind of speed, you are a true passer...very accurate, nice touch on the ball. BM: Thank you, sir. I have always prided myself on my completion percentage. Also, the coaches here have always emphasized that a great deal. SM: What other things do you pride yourself in as kind of unique aspects of your game, Bret? BM: I would say just knowing everything that's going on out there...becoming a better leader. I don't have to worry about the guys getting mad if I get on them for something anymore. SM: So you feel you have done a good job recently managing the team and the game? BM: Yes, that's a good way to put it. SM: What are some things that you are working on still to improve on in your game, Bret? BM: Arm strength drills, still dong those. I still want to feel even better about everything I am doing. SM: Do you get many designed running plays? BM: Each year there have been fewer of those... SM: That's probably a result of you gaining more and more confidence as a passer? BM: Probably, yes. We still run a few QB draws against the 3-4...a few quarterback counters, but not as many anymore as I once ran. SM: How important is football overall to you Bret? BM: It's real important. It's been a big part of my life. It's always been a big plus for me. It's not everything, but it is very important. It's also just always been a lot of fun for me. SM: Who'd you consider coming out early if you had a great year this season? Let's say, you guys managed to go all the way and win a national title, for instance...? BM: I really haven't thought about it. A lot goes into a decision like that...what other QBs are in the draft, how high I am projected to go, etc... If all the conditions were right, I might... SM: Have you promised your parents you'd finish your degree no matter what though? BM: My parents haven't actually pushed that. It's been my sister Mindy who has really been on me about that. SM: Are you one of these guys who sets personal goals for himself heading into a season? BM: I usually sit down with coach and go over those. We really do more with setting goals for the off-season and for spring practices...things like ball security, running the ball...those are the types of general things we set. We have done that yet for the coming season. SM: Has the team talked about their goals for this fall yet? BM: Not yet. We usually do that during 2-a-days. SM: Are you still a Communications Studies major? BM: Yes. SM: What's your GPA, Bret? BM: It's a 2.5...I am scheduled to graduate in the fall of '07. SM: What would you do in the event that for whatever reason you couldn't continue on in football as your career choice? BM: I would probably get into phys ed...maybe coach... SM: OK, well, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this interview with me, Bret. It's been a great pleasure getting to know you a little. I certainly wish you guys great success this fall. BM: Thank you very much. I apprecite it. |