‘I was completely caught off guard’: Former EWU, Spokane Shock quarterback Erik Meyer to enter Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame

Erik Meyer rightly considers Spokane his second home.

First in Cheney for five years playing football and attending Eastern Washington University, then for another five seasons playing for the now-defunct Spokane Shock indoor team, it all comes full circle for the former quarterback this week.

The California native will be inducted into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame on Saturday (July 20) at a ceremony in Spokane, thanks to his distinguished career with the Eagles from 2002-05. But he also fondly remembers spending most of his professional playing career for the Shock, a former powerhouse of American football.

In five seasons (2010-14) with the Shock, Meyer completed 67.7 percent of his passes (762 of 1,125) for 8,721 yards, 199 touchdowns and just 26 interceptions in the regular season. In 2013, he was named league MVP and offensive player of the year after leading the team to a 14-4 record.

His time at Cheney gave him a taste of what the club was all about. Then, after other opportunities in professional football closed for him, the path back to Spokane opened up.

“I didn’t know much about Spokane when I got there in 2010, but I saw the atmosphere in the arena and how much the fans loved the indoor game,” he said. “It made me want to pursue an AFL career. It was such a great feeling playing in front of those fans in Spokane – they made it fun for me.”

Meyer had opportunities to play with three teams in the National Football League (Cincinnati, Seattle and Oakland) and one in the Canadian Football League (the Hamilton Tiger-Cats). Those opportunities were unsuccessful (partly due to a broken leg), but he had an eventful and productive spring/summer 2007 season with the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europa.

He ranked second among NFLE quarterbacks with a passer rating of 101.1 after earning the starting quarterback job midway through the season. He earned the league’s Player of the Week honors and finished the season completing 68.8 percent of his passes, setting an NFL Europa record that would never be broken. That’s because the NFL decided to end the league’s existence shortly after that season.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life to live in Germany for three months and play football with the possibility of coming back to the NFL,” said Meyer, now the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Cal Poly. “When I got there, I didn’t know what to expect, but their fans are a group of people who love American football. They provided a football environment with a lot of craziness. It was a phenomenal experience for me.”

After tasting the professional success he had long awaited in Germany, Meyer finally found his niche in the Arena Football League. Two of his five seasons in Spokane were marred by injuries and his professional career ended on November 12, 2015, when the San Jose SaberCats announced they were ceasing operations.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to stay in the NFL, but I was grateful to be able to play in NFL Europe the last year they had it and then obviously the majority of my career was in the AFL,” he said of his professional career. “What made Spokane so special was the fan support and the fun that came with those games.”

His family will be in attendance at the BSC Hall of Fame ceremonies, including his parents, Ken and Nancy. His younger sister, Erika, also graduated from EWU before moving to California, and she will also make the trip back to her college home. Erik’s younger brother, Tristan, who played occasional quarterback at Sacramento State, will be in attendance, along with about 15 other family members and close friends.

“I was very fortunate and blessed to have parents who were so supportive of me. They went to every football game when I was at Eastern Washington, home and away,” Meyer said. “Having that support and love made life more fun and always gave me a reason to play. I’m really grateful that my parents were able to do that.”

A year ago, offensive tackle Michael Roos was the first football player from the East to be selected to the Big Sky Hall of Fame for an All-America career for the Eagles and an All-Pro career while playing for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

Roos played at EWU from 2001-04 — the last three alongside Meyer — and the 2004 EWU team beat No. 1 seed Southern Illinois 35-31 on the road in the first round of the playoffs.

“Michael was very deserving and had an incredible career at Eastern and then a great career in the NFL,” Meyer said. “I was very fortunate to have a guy like him protecting my blind side.”

Meyer also had a talented group of receivers to throw to at Eastern, and the offensive results were astounding. Meyer was a two-time All-American at EWU and was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior.

With a .657 completion percentage, 10,261 yards, 84 touchdowns and just 17 interceptions in 42 career games, Meyer broke the FCS record for quarterback efficiency rating with at least 400 completions at 166.47. He narrowly surpassed the previous record of 166.27 set from 1992-95 by Montana’s Dave Dickenson, another Big Sky Hall of Famer.

Meyer became the 17th player in FCS history to pass for more than 10,000 yards in his career, thanks in part to Eric Kimble, who began his career as a running back and was transformed into an All-America wide receiver. Kimble finished his career with 253 receptions for 4,140 yards, and his 46 touchdown receptions ranked second in FCS history at the time, behind the 50 of legendary Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley from 1981-84.

“He obviously made it easy for me,” Meyer said of Kimble. “But we had a lot of other great receivers on the field. All five of us had a really good feel for where they needed to be and where I needed to go with the ball. We fed off of each other, and that was pretty unique in that group of receivers we had out there.”

Kimble posted on Facebook when he heard the news of Meyer’s induction: “YEAH MY LOVE!! Super excited to see this. Legend! Erik Meyer.”

Craig McIntyre, Raul Vijil and Richmond Sanders were his other top targets. Those three, along with Meyer and Kimble, joined EWU in the fall of 2001 together and finished their careers together in 2005 with a narrow 41-38 playoff loss to Northern Iowa.

“It was unique that we all came in the same year and finished our careers together,” he added. “The fact that we were together and were in this system five years in a row made it a lot easier for us to connect.”

Kimble and McIntyre will be among a group of more than 15 former Eastern players who will be in Spokane to honor Meyer. The last time Meyer saw most of them was in Frisco, Texas, when Eastern was playing for the NCAA Division I title after the 2018 season.

Vijil eventually played with Meyer for the Spokane Shock, and his own career will be worthy of Hall of Fame induction one day. A second-team All-Big Sky receiver while at EWU, Vijil helped the Shock win indoor football league titles in three of his six seasons with the club from 2006-11.

Although injuries never allowed their college chemistry to fully materialize as professionals, Meyer and Vijil played together in 2010 during the Shock’s first year as a member of the AFL after previously playing in AF2. The Shock went 13-3 and won ArenaBowl XXIII before falling to 9-9 in the 2011 regular season in Vijil’s final season.

Vijil had 489 receptions for 5,701 passes and 151 touchdowns in 74 regular-season games over his six seasons. Perhaps the most iconic face of the franchise, he was known by his nickname “Raul The Thrill Vijil,” the back flips he performed after touchdowns, as well as a well-deserved jersey retirement after his final season with the franchise.

Vijil has a family obligation in Texas and can’t be there this week, but he doesn’t mince words about the relationship he’s forged with Meyer over the years.

“Looking back on our time at EWU, it’s a lot easier now to appreciate what we were able to accomplish and see that what we did together was special,” he said. “It was a good thing he had such an incredible core of receivers to make him look good — I’m kind of kidding.”

“When our careers crossed paths again in the Arena game, it was exciting,” he continued, “because I knew the type of fun, competitive, winning mentality he brought. I’ve always been proud to call him my quarterback.”

Meyer will proudly represent the Eagles and Shock this week in Spokane, though it came as a complete surprise as he continues his college coaching career at another Big Sky school, Cal Poly. In fact, his boss there is Paul Wulff, who will also be on hand Saturday for the festivities as the head coach at Cal Poly after serving in that role at EWU from 2000-07.

“I was completely blindsided, I had no idea what it was,” Meyer said of being notified of the award by league deputy commissioner Jon Kasper. “When he told me, I was shocked. Obviously, it was very exciting news.”

“I didn’t even know I was nominated for this award, so it’s really cool to have it back in Spokane, my second home,” he added. “It’s awesome.”