Bradley Ryan Meester (born March 23, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a center for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Northern Iowa Panthers and was selected by the Jaguars in the second round of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

Early life

Meester attended Aplington–Parkersburg High School in

Parkersburg, Iowa Parkersburg is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,015 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 1,870 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Parkersburg, although not the county seat, ...

, and was a good student and a

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basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

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. He was the South Butler FFA Chapter President. Meester graduated from Aplington–Parkersburg in 1995 with a 3.80

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

College career

At Northern Iowa, Meester was a four-year starter at center and a three-time All-Gateway Conference first-team selection. He was named to the Division I-AA ''

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'' and Coaches All-America team as a senior. He also made the 1999 GTE Academic All-America team. Also an outstanding student, Meester graduated with a degree in business management and 3.76 GPA.

Professional career

2000 NFL draft

Regarded as the No. 2 center available in the

behind John St. Clair, Meester was the first center chosen, selected with the 60th overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He tied with Michael Cheever (

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) as the highest-drafted centers ever by the team. Meester also was the highest Northern Iowa draftee since James Jones in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

Meester was selected in the second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars where he started all 16 games in his rookie season. He was only the third rookie in Jaguars history to start all 16 games. In 2003, he moved from left guard to center following the departure of free agent John Wade. He is the only Jaguar to start his first 92 regular season games. His streak was ended on December 4, 2005, when he suffered a torn biceps tendon in a game against the Cleveland Browns. An

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the 2009 offseason, Meester was re-signed by the Jaguars on February 27. Meester became a free agent on March 12, 2013, and was re-signed by the team on March 19. On December 18, 2013, Meester announced that he would retire after the 2013 season after playing his entire career with the Jaguars. On December 22 in a game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Meester recorded his first career reception on a screen pass from

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...

for nine yards and a first down. Meester retired as the Jaguar franchise record holder for seasons played (14), games played (209), games started (209) and consecutive games started (92).

Family

Meester and his wife, Jamie, have six daughters and live in Iowa. Chloe plays volleyball. He enjoys riding and restoring motorcycles, deer hunting and gator hunting.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meester, Brad 1977 births Living people People from Iowa Falls, Iowa American football offensive guards American football centers Northern Iowa Panthers football players Jacksonville Jaguars players People from Parkersburg, Iowa