Chase Meyer was wrapping up his freshman season at the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 when he got the call that he had feared for years. On the other side of the country in his hometown of Costa Mesa, California, Meyer’s father was locked into a long-term battle for his life. At that time, the unfortunate victor in the battle was becoming evident.
It was cancer, and Peter Meyer was given six months left to live.
The battle with sarcoma had been raging since Chase’s sophomore year of high school at national powerhouse Mater Dei. He was a two-time all-state selection for the Monarchs and opted to kick in the Ivy League, even if it meant being away from his family.
The education would certainly set him up for success, just like his father. Peter, a former Yale soccer player in his own college days, was a highly successful manager and agent to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, William Shatner and Christopher Walken were just a few on his extensive list of clientele.
After playing as a true freshman kickoff man for the Quakers, Chase Meyer made the decision to return home to California for the spring of 2023. He remained by his father’s side until his death in May of last year. It was a decision he didn’t think twice about.
“That’s something I use for motivation every single day,” said Meyer, who now kicks at Penn State. “I wear his necklace. If you ever see me playing around with my necklace during the game, it’s my dad’s, to remember him. That’s something that I take with me every single day. A lot of people never have to deal with what I dealt with last offseason. That’s made me 100 times stronger, mentally, physically, spiritually, everything.”
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Following his father’s passing, Meyer looked for another opportunity. He found it as a walk-on camp addition with Tulsa in the summer of 2023. He won the starting job in preseason camp and went on to hit 17-of-20 field goals and earn All-Conference honors for the Golden Hurricanes in the fall. Meyer capped the season with a 37-yard game-winner in Tulsa’s season-finale against East Carolina.
He went into the Transfer Portal in December and quickly heard from now-former Penn State Special Teams Coordinator Stacy Collins, who recruited him out of high school and brought him in to join the program as a walk-on kicker for the spring. Collins left for Boise State in January, but Meyer’s focus was on establishing himself in his new home. Meyer spent spring ball battling with Sander Sahaydak and Ryan Barker for the job left vacant by Alex Felkins’ graduation. It’s a competition that will go into the fall.
“I think it’s taken him a while to just get comfortable with a new environment, a new program, but he’s consistently gotten better through the spring,” new Penn State special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said of Meyer.
“So we’ve got a great battle going on. I’m really excited about it. The old adage of iron sharpening iron is at play. They know that spot is open.”
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The jump from the American Athletic Conference to the Big Ten has been a big one, but Meyer is hopeful that he can break through in what is set to be his first true offseason. If he’s able to do so, he’ll trot out on onto the Beaver Stadium turf, give a tug on that necklace and know that his biggest fan will be right there with him.
“My mom always says he has a front row seat to every game,” Meyer said of his father. “He’ll always be looking down on me, especially for those big games. The White Out games, I know he’ll always be there.
“Bottom line, I think my dad would be so proud of me. He’s always wanted me to take every single opportunity just to further my career. My dad will always be there, always looking down. He’ll have the best seat in the house.”
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