Meet Chris Myers
By Tracy Gale
March 1, 2004
Hurricane Headquarters
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — – UM starting offensive guard Chris Myers grew up living and breathing football, loving his hometown ‘Canes and Miami Dolphins. This isn’t unusual, but what is surprising is that Myers didn’t play football until he got to high school.
“I played baseball, basketball and soccer growing up,” Myers says. “I didn’t play football until the 10th grade, when I went out for the team at [Miami] Palmetto Senior High. My parents didn’t want me playing football when I was a little kid, because they didn’t want me getting hurt. They said I could play football when I got to high school because it was more organized and regulated.”
Myers has some special football family ties: his grandfather was a long-time NFL official’s supervisor and his uncle, Dennis Kelleher, was a defensive end for the Hurricanes in the mid-1980s. Although just a kindergartner at the time, Chris vividly remembers being in the Orange Bowl when UM won their second national championship on January 1, 1988.
“That was the greatest game for me,” recalled Myers. “Uncle Dennis came and got me right after Miami beat Oklahoma. He grabbed me over the Orange Bowl railing and carried me onto the field. Then he brought me into the locker room. I remember the celebration! After he showered we went back out onto the field at the OB and threw the football around. It was about midnight and we were out there on the field. I was in heaven! The next day I went around and told everybody, ‘I am going to play football for the Miami Hurricanes.’ Well, I wasn’t the most athletic kid back then, and I am sure people were like, yeah, right.”
Dennis Kelleher was photographed with cheerleader Tammy McPhee for the cover of “Sports Illustrated.” This SI cover hangs in various offices inside the Hecht Athletic Center and in the Rathskellar, UM’s campus bar. However, Chris doesn’t need large photographic reminders of his family. It has always been the main focus of his life.
“I went to school in Pinecrest , which is on the east side of U.S.1 in South Miami-Dade, but I lived in the Country Walk area, west of the highway. It was a long way from where I lived to where I went to school. So after school I didn’t hang out with school friends because they didn’t live anywhere near me. My friends were my family and my extended family-aunts, uncles, cousins. I had my school ‘best friends’ but my family has always been who I am really close to.”
Myers’ dad, Christopher, studied architecture at UM and played club-level rugby, a sport he still enjoys. He owns Myers Construction Group with his father and uncle. Mom Bridgid attended Miami-Dade Community College and works at Myers Construction as well, handling the bookkeeping and payroll. It’s ‘family first’ all the way with the Myers clan.
“I have a really large family and they come to every game, they always have” Chris said, smiling. “They are so supportive of me. Whether or not we win or lose, my mom is like, ‘you had a great game.’ Sometimes I haven’t had a great game! That’s when my grandfather gets in to the act. He tells me, ‘Chris you missed this block and you did this and that.’ He gives it to me straight, and I appreciate that.”
Chris has always looked up to his Uncle Dennis. Having an uncle who won two national championship rings was only part of the reason. Dennis always spent a lot of time with Chris when he was little, and it really made an impression on him.
“Since my uncle played for Miami I always thought he was just the best, most awesome football player. But it was more than that. Dennis would build me up, encourage me about everything in life. He’d always tell me, ‘you’re a better player than me, you’re going to go places that I could never go.’ It meant so much to me that he always believed in me.”
When it came time for college Chris looked at the University of North Carolina, Florida State and the University of Florida. Not seriously of course. Chris only wanted to come to the University of Miami. He picks up the story:
“I wasn’t sure if UM wanted me. So after Miami, Florida State has the best football program, it was my second choice. And staying in-state, the Gators were my third choice.”
And North Carolina?
Laughs Chris, “they wear the right color blue-Columbia Blue like my high school!”
Chris took unofficial visits to Florida State and Florida. His first–and only– official visit was to UM. Once the ‘Canes wanted him, Chris cancelled all other recruiting trips. Myers remembers his weekend visit to his hometown Hurricanes:
“I rode around with Coach Kehoe. I knew him from summer camps and from just hanging around campus. He showed me stuff, but you know, it wasn’t like I needed someone to point out where the Wellness Center or business school is. I knew all that already. So Coach Kehoe and I just talked. Then Joaquin Gonzalez took me out, he was my Friday night host. We went to eat with Martin Bibla. I felt like I knew these guys forever. We just hung out and it was so comfortable. I couldn’t believe how easy it was, hanging out with all of the guys. There was an immediate acceptance. I felt like a member of the team. So I committed that weekend. I had some friends who were like, ‘hey, use the system, take your trips and enjoy them.’ But I didn’t want to waste their time or mine. I was going to be a Hurricane.”
Chris signed the same time starting center Joel Rodriguez did, and the two didn’t waste any time getting with the program. Chris says they are a great pair, on the field and off.
“In February 2000 after we signed Joel and I started meeting up, working out, running and conditioning. Joel went to Monsignor Pace in NW Dade, and we knew each other from before, because we’d played in some high school all star games. So we kind of paired up during recruiting. Once we committed here we’d come over to campus and see all of these guys, guys who were about to go to the NFL and Hurricane alums down during the off-season. We’d see them in the weight room and running on the practice field, and we’d work that much harder.”
Myers’ first week as an official member of the Hurricanes came in August 2000. Even though he and Rodriguez had been working out at UM during the spring and summer, they both had to go through the usual rites of football initiation, including having their heads shaved. After a redshirt year spent watching and learning behind current NFL players like Brett Romberg and Bryant McKinnie, Chris saw playing time in 2001 and was named a starter in 2002.
Always working towards perfection on the field, Myers says he has never had what he considers a complete game. He says the closest he’s come so far would be his second start, which came against the Gators at Florida Field in 2002.
“Vernon Carey and I just had this breakout game. We had a crazy amount of pancakes [flattening the opposing defensive lineman], and graded out pretty well.”
All of the ‘Canes must have graded out pretty well because Miami won, 41-16.
The Hurricanes are known for having a family-like bond among the players. Nowhere is this more evident than the offensive line, which is run by Assistant Head Coach Art Kehoe.
“All areas of the a football team have to work together but communication and working together are more than just physical abilities,” Kehoe says. “There are checks to motion and hand signals on defense, but no other place on a football team is the verbal communication and personal relationships more important.”
Myers agrees.
“I’m sure it starts in high school, you learn to deal with a group of guys on things like timing and your communication. And to get that you hang out a lot. At UM all of the offensive linemen are tight. We do stuff and make fun of each all the time: no subject is off limits! If you laugh together and learn together, you can stay in a good mood. Working hard together makes you more confident as a unit.”
Coach Kehoe says he spotted many qualities in Chris when he was just 15 years old.
“The first time I saw Chris was at a summer ‘Down and Dirty’ football camp in Lakeland, Florida. I saw a fiercely competitive kid and, although he was just a baby he worked his butt off.
Later that year I was scouting a high school game between Palmetto and South Dade High School. I went to scout Antrel Rolle, who had a great game, but I kept being amazed by Chris’s line play. For a young kid he was just unbelievable. Chris is an engaging guy, and he has matured into a tough football player. I definitely think he can play in the NFL.”
Before the NFL there is a degree to earn, which Chris will do this May. Myers will actually earn two degrees, since he double majored in History and Political Science. He will take his GRE exam and begin graduate school in the fall. And of course there is one last season in the trenches for the Miami Hurricanes.
“From what this spring has been like, we will be the strongest ever. We are kicking butt in the weight room but we aren’t losing any speed. We have to give credit to Coach [Andreu] Swassey for that. He is amazing, a great motivator. Guys are doing an insane amount of reps and throwing a lot of weight around. We don’t want a season like last year, which we consider a failure. 11-2 might be great for other places, but not for us. If we aren’t playing in the Orange Bowl this year for the national title then we will have failed. And I’m telling you, there’s no way we’ll settle for anything less than the title this year.”
Chris Myers on…The Hurricane Hotseat
Favorite UM class, and why:Theatre 105. It was an improvisational acting class and the theatre professor, Patricia Gross, was great. You had to be quick-witted on a lot of different subjects. My final exam was an improv routine where I was paired up with a Delta Gamma sorority sister. We acted out a mixed doubles tennis match, she was the guy and I was the girl. Of course I was dressed appropriately!
Besides being a Hurricane what is the best thing about attending UM?I would have to say the diversity. You have athletes, you have the Greek [fraternity and sorority] life, and you have your regular students. At UM you can get past the different walls, the different groups of people if you want to, and you can open yourself up to all different types of people and enjoy different areas of college life. The UM campus is great for that. It is easy to make connections here. [Chris pledged the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity in 2003.]
What is your favorite food?Steak and potatoes. The steak, cooked medium, and eaten with a lot of A-1 Steak Sauce.
Finish this sentence: “If I were NFL commissioner I would change…”The touchdown celebration penalty rule. It’s ridiculous! If I get to the NFL and score a touchdown – well, me or any other offensive lineman for that matter – if we have a chance to actually pick up the ball and run with it into the endzone? We’re gonna go nuts! Any center or guard would! All my clothes would probably come off, and who knows what else I would do. Believe me, the fine I get will be worth it.
The last CD I listened to was: Linkin Park’s “Meteora.”
Favorite Athlete Growing Up:Dan Marino. He’s the man! I was always a Dolfan growing up and no matter where I get the opportunity to play pro football, my feelings for the Dolphins won’t change.
What tattoos do you have? I have a tribal tat on my left bicep. I also have a sun design on my back, and in the middle of the sun is our green and orange ‘U’ with the word CHAMPS in the middle. We all got them after we won the Rose Bowl.
Book I’d recommend reading is:The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I memorized it in elementary school and it is still the best book, ever!
If I won the Lotto tonight the first thing I’d buy is:A Mercedes for my mom and a Harley Davidson for my dad.
The Hurricane football player whose career I most admire is:Ed Reed. What a leader he was on the field and off.
My favorite all-time movie is:Braveheart…hand’s down!
Describe your dream date:[Chris dates UM Volleyball star Elizabeth Tyson]. First “Biz” and I would go to dinner. We’d eat for a few hours! Then probably go hang out…
If I could line up and block anyone in the history of the NFL, the d-lineman I would like to try and stop is:Dan Klecko of the New England Patriots. He played for Temple University and is still the best lineman I’ve ever faced. I gave up only one sack my first year as a starter and it was to him. I want some revenge!
Best all time television show is: Thundercats. This cartoon series is the best show, ever.
Biggest misconception people have about UM football players: That we are classless. You won’t find classier, more dedicated athletes anywhere in the country, period. The work ethic here is unbelievable.
If your teammates were asked to describe you with only one word, what would that word be?“Effort.”
