The collegiate profile of Dylan Meyer differs from the norm when it comes to Concordia University, Nebraska Football. Meyer will admit that the circuitous route he took to Seward wasn’t exactly what he planned. Coming out of Norris High School, Meyer first chose NCAA Division II Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Then there were stops at Iowa Western Community College and Chadron State College out in western Nebraska.
The final collegiate destination has felt like the right one for Meyer, who says, “It's definitely been a journey — not the one I thought it was going to be.”
The circumstances have resulted in Meyer being one of the older players on Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s 2026 roster. After appearing in all 11 games at Chadron State in 2024, Meyer flourished in 2025 as a Bulldog. Though not an immediate starter, Meyer caught everyone’s attention for his penchant for stalking the opposition in the backfield. His 16.5 tackles for loss led all GPAC players last fall.
Meyer’s 155 tackles as a senior at Norris High School landed him at Bemidji State in the fall of 2021. A former Nebraska state wrestling medalist, Meyer played fullback for the Beavers in Bemidji, where he stayed for just a single semester. Little did he know, five years later he’d still be playing college football while relocating near his hometown of Hickman, simplifying the travel itinerary for parents Rick and Chelsey.
The return of Meyer for a second year in Bulldog Blue will pay dividends throughout the fall for Coordinator Corby Osten’s unit. As Daberkow said prior to the start of the season, “Dylan Meyer coming back is big. He's just a hammer in the middle.”
An injury slowed Meyer leading into the season opener, but he returned to health in time to hold down a spot at inside linebacker with Deegan Barnes and Drake Trent flanking him on either side. Meyer has logged four stops in the backfield through the season’s first two games while playing freer and looser with a full year in Osten’s 3-3-5 defensive system.
“It really fits me,” said Meyer of the Concordia scheme. “One of the things I like about Coach O is he doesn't want you to necessarily play robotic. Every player is different. He does want you to do certain techniques and certain things like that, but he just lets you play. He lets you play freely. He also likes hearing your input — what you're thinking and what you're seeing. That's one of the things I really, really like about Coach O.”
From the beginning, Meyer has appreciated the messaging and feedback he’s received from the coaching staff. Meyer remembers feeling under the weather on his recruiting visit as a transfer student. The visit went on as planned. Meyer had found his home, a place where he could thrive on the football field and continue his studies as a Recreation and Sport Studies major.
“After talking with them, I really fell in love with the coaching staff,” Meyer said. “They didn't come out and say, ‘Oh, we're going to guarantee you this, this and this." It was, ‘Hey, we think you can do this, but you've got to put in the work.’ That really stood out to me. They didn't just tell me what I was going to do. They told me they thought I could do it, but I was going to have to put in the work myself.”
Persistence and the right opportunity yielded eye-popping production. A breakout came in the middle of last season when Meyer posted three tackles for loss at Waldorf and then 4.5 stops in the backfield at Mount Marty. In punctuating an all-conference campaign, Meyer came through with four sacks in a 21-17 grinder of a home win over Northwestern in the ’25 finale.
Meyer may say that he’s not thinking about the TFL’s or the sacks, but his eyes light up when the Northwestern game is referenced. It’s a performance this year’s defense can point back to as proof of what it’s capable of. The effort gave Meyer a case to be mentioned among the top linebackers in the GPAC heading into the fall.
Meyer was able to do something Morningside struggled with already this season – putting Red Raider quarterback Colby Duncan on the ground.
Said Meyer, “It gave me huge confidence. During the game, you don't realize what you're doing. Then after the game it kind of hits you. You're like, ‘Holy cow, that's what I did.’ It didn't really hit me at first, but going into the season, it gave me a lot of confidence. I'm like, ‘You know what? I belong here. This is what I'm supposed to be doing.’”
In his travels, Meyer has seen stadiums and environments at the NCAA Division II, junior college and NAIA levels in the Midwest and beyond. The atmosphere at Bulldog Stadium gets the juices flowing as well as any of them, especially underneath the lights. His first two games at Concordia were played at night amidst one of small college football’s best environments on the campus located at 800 North Columbia Avenue. As Meyer said, “I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it right now.”
Eight more games remain in a regular season that Meyer will attempt to soak in as best as he can. Post graduation, when Meyer slips away for one of his hunting or fishing trips, he’ll likely think back to the camaraderie he’s developed with his teammates. There’s nothing like being around the guys, as Meyer states. “You’ve got to be able to be close with your teammates,” Meyer continued.
Off the field, Meyer accompanies hunting and fishing with a country music playlist. He mentions HuHot as his preferred fast-food joint and his list of favorite athletes includes the likes of boxer Mike Tyson and former standout NFL linebackers Ray Lewis and Luke Kuechly. This past summer, Dylan and his father ventured out to Oregon and Idaho for a fishing trip.
There will be time for more of that after one more fall with the guys within a locker room that welcomed him with open arms. Says Meyer, “It's as simple as that — just being around these guys.”
Daberkow and his staff place a premium on developing relationships with student-athletes over four and sometimes five years. Meyer may not be the prototype in that regard, but both sides are satisfied with the result. While wearing No. 44 in the middle of Concordia’s defense, Meyer found his home with his people.