Canadian ironman prepares for fourth season with NFL Jaguars

Vancouver native Rob Meier is the Cal Ripken of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defensive end and special teams ace hasn't missed a single game in three seasons with the NFL club.

The Jaguars drafted Meier, who was an All-Province selection as a senior at West Vancouver's Sentinel high school, in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL draft. The 6-5", 293-pound defender was also drafted first overall that year by the B.C. Lions, but opted to play south of the border. In his first two seasons with Jacksonville Meier recorded 38 tackles on defense and 23 more on special teams. By last season Meier had played his way into a starting role with the Jaguars, and recorded 2 sacks seven starts.

Meier's iron man streak actually extends back as far as his freshman year as a scholarship athlete at Washington State University (1995). Meier never missed a game in four seasons with the Cougars, starting in 23 of a possible 25 games. In his senior season Meier was given All-PAC-10 Conference honorable mention and earned a spot in the Blue-Gray All-Star game.

Meier made such an impact at Washington State that the school still looks to Vancouver for tough, well-rounded Canadian defenders. In February Jon Conlin, a defensive end who this past season led the Vancouver College Irish to the British Columbia 'AAA High School Championship game, accepted a full scholarship to Washington State University.

"From day one, my dream was to play in the Pac Ten for one of the two Washington schools," said Conlin at a recent press conference. "I loved the coaches at WSU and the campus. The atmosphere around the program is great after the Rose Bowl season and I can't wait to be a part of it."