Kerry Meier Kerry Meier ( born November 12 , 1986 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Falcons in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft . He played college football at Kansas . A former quarterback turned wide receiver in college , he broke multiple Kansas receiving records and played a key role in the Jayhawks winning the 2008 Orange Bowl his Junior as well as helping lead the Jayhawks to win the 2008 Insight Bowl his Senior year . Early years . Kerry Meier was born and raised in Pittsburg , Kansas . He grew up playing many sports including football , basketball , and baseball . Meier attended Pittsburg High School where he was an all - state quarterback , kicker and punter . He was named all - league first team as a quarterback and a punter in both 2003 and 2004 . Additionally , he was an all - state selection at quarterback by the Kansas Football Coaches Association as a senior . He was also named to the KFCA ' s Top 11 . He was ranked as the 13th - best high school senior quarterback in the nation by " Superprep Magazine " . During his senior season , Meier completed 72 of 151 passes for 930 yards and nine touchdowns in 2004 . He led the PHS Dragons to the sectional championship as a junior and senior . Meier was coached in football by Merle Clark . Meier graduated in 2005 following a very successful high school career . Rivals . com ranked Meier the best high school player in Kansas and the 14th best dual threat quarterback . Meier committed to play collegiately for Mark Mangino ' s Kansas Jayhawks . College career . 2005 season . In fall of 2005 Meier underwent surgery for a heart condition that had been undetected until Meier started college . Meier was a redshirt this year . He was named as the co - winner of the team ' s Otto Schnellbacher Award , an award given to the offensive scout - team MVP . 2006 season . During the 2006 season , Meier started eight games at quarterback . He completed 104 of 184 pass attempts and threw for 1 , 193 yards , including a KU freshman record 13 touchdowns . Meier also finished second on the team with 346 rushing yards . He averaged 3 . 5 yards per carry and added five rushing touchdowns . Meier was named KU ' s Offensive Player of the Week following the Northwestern State and OSU games . 2007 season . Prior to the 2007 season , Meier lost the starting quarterback job to Todd Reesing , who would set Kansas single season records for passing yards and touchdowns . Despite losing his starting role , Meier found playing time at the wide receiver position . He caught 26 passes for 274 yards and completed 25 of 29 passes as the backup quarterback . He had at least two receptions in each of the last eight games . He also had four catches for 70 yards vs . Missouri and had four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown against Nebraska . Meier became the first KU player to record a rushing touchdown , passing touchdown and receiving touchdown in the same season since Garfield Taylor in 1981 . He also became the first Jayhawk to record a rush , pass , reception and punt in the same season since Donald Shanklin in 1968 . During this season , Meier was featured on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . 2008 season . In 2008 , Meier was listed under four positions on the Kansas depth chart , backup QB , starting WR , backup punter , and holder for kicks . He tied Dezmon Briscoe for the school mark for single - game receptions with 14 catches against Missouri . Meier had 97 catches for 1 , 045 yards , the fourth - most yards by a KU player in history . The 97 catches were a KU single - season record . He also had eight touchdown catches , which tied for third on the KU season list . Meier was also tied for sixth in the NCAA with 7 . 46 receptions per game . His 80 . 38 yards per game ranked 32nd nationally . Through the end of 2008 , Meier had a streak of at least two passes in 21 consecutive games . Meier was a Biletnikoff Award candidate . He also earned All - Big 12 Honorable Mention honors . He was named Phil Steele All - Big 12 Third Team , Kansas City Star All - Big 12 Second Team , and Associated Press All - Big 12 Honorable Mention . Meier shared KU ' s Gale Sayers Most Courageous Player award with Jake Sharp , as well as KU ' s Most Improved Offensive Player with Dezmon Briscoe . Meier graduated in 2010 with a degree in sports management . Professional career . Atlanta Falcons . On April 24 , 2010 , Meier was picked 165th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons . On July 16 , 2010 Meier signed a 4 - year , $ 1 . 947 million contract with the Falcons . He spent the entire 2010 season on injured reserve after injuring his knee in the 2nd preseason game against the New England Patriots . In what was officially Meier ' s rookie year in 2011 , he played in 12 games , but did not record a single catch . Personal life . Meier has three older brothers all who played football . Shad Meier and Dylan Meier who played for Kansas State University . Shad then spent six seasons in the National Football League . Adam Meier played at Pittsburg State . Meier is the son of Dennis and Valerie Meier who reside in Pittsburg , Kansas . Dylan died after falling from a cliff while hiking in Arkansas with the family .