Meder Goes From D-II All-American To NFL To AU Hall of Fame

The Pierogi Prince of Parma officially will become an Ashland University Hall of Famer in October.
 
Former Ashland University defensive tackle Jamie Meder will be part of the 50^th Ashland athletics Hall of Fame class, which officially will be inducted during the 2026 Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center – prior to the Eagle football team's 102^nd Homecoming game at 1 p.m. vs. Tiffin at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
 
"I was very happy. Still am," Meder said of getting the Hall call. "Gave my wife a call to let her know, and my dad after that. We're all excited."
 
Meder was as dominant of a defensive lineman the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Midwest Region, and NCAA Division II saw in the first half of the decade of the 2010s. He helped the Eagles to the 2012 D-II playoffs, and was a 2013 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) first-team All-American, two-time GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year, 2010 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and four-time first-team All-GLIAC.
 
Ranking fourth in Ashland football annals with 35 tackles for loss, Meder parlayed his collegiate success into a five-season National Football League career (2014-17, 2019), mostly with the Cleveland Browns. He was the 2016 Week 16 AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after he blocked a San Diego Chargers field goal attempt late in fourth quarter to help Browns maintain three-point lead during a 20-17 victory.
 
Meder came from Parma, Ohio, and Valley Forge High School, and began his Eagle career at the start of the decade of the 2010s.
 
"Ashland, honestly, was the only school that stuck around after they saw everyone else," he said. "Honestly, it was the right decision, and happy to have gone there. Some of the best memories of my life. Made some great friends along the way."
 
Meder made an immediate impact on the Eagles, as they went from 8-3 in his freshman season to 11-1, an undefeated regular season and a home NCAA playoff appearance in 2012.
 
"I always worked as hard as I could to hopefully achieve that," he said. "I knew I was OK at football at the time, and I just knew I had to have a great work ethic and put the time in, and, hopefully, the rewards come after.
 
"That (2012) was probably one of my favorite years of football in my entire career. Week after week, it was just one game at a time. It was just a great year."
 
Meder played along the same AU defensive line as fellow defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton, who fashioned his own NFL career after his days at Ashland.
 
"It was awesome," said Meder. "It definitely helped me out. He can handle his own double teams, and I can have my own, no extra guys coming at us, so it was a great time."
 
What was it like for Meder to play for Eagle defensive coordinator Tim Rose?
 
"Definitely intense. It's great. It's awesome," he said. "But you don't want to be on his bad side. And there were a few times my freshman year that I definitely wasn't on the good side of coach Rose, and I paid for it."
 
Meder is one of nine former Eagles to play in a regular-season NFL game. He said after Pendleton made his way into the league that it became real to him that it was a possibility.
 
And then, he had the opportunity to play for his favorite childhood team in Cleveland.
 
"Cleveland's definitely home," he said. "Joe Thomas gave me the nickname, and it stuck around. It (the blocked field goal vs. the Chargers) was a memory I'll never forget, that's for sure. I probably talk about it at least once or twice a week with somebody. I'll never forget the Browns fans cheering.
 
"Before having children, some of the best times for me, on the offseason especially…I would wake up around 7 in the morning, go to the facility, eat breakfast, go work out, hit the sauna, recovery, chiropractor, you name it, the pool, then it would be just in time for lunch. I'd go home, play Call of Duty and wait for my wife to come home. It was great."
 
These days, Meder is a police officer in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, and recently was named Detective. He has been a police officer for more than five years.
 
Meder is happily married to Lyndsey, and they have two boys, Duke and Nash, and a daughter, Navy. They also have two dogs.
 
"We're busy," Meder said. "I thought I was busy when I was younger in the NFL, but with kids now, it's insane."
 
As for Meder's sales pitch for anyone who may want to come to Ashland University, he said, "It's a great small college. The classes are nothing huge, so you're not just going to blend in to the crowd. You're actually going to have a voice and you're going to heard, which is an amazing thing."