Mitch Meeuwsen is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who played cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 for the San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

Early years

Meeuwsen attended Forest Grove High School

Forest Grove High School

Forest Grove High School is a public high school in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. It is the only high school in the Forest Grove School District.-Students:...

 in Forest Grove, Oregon

Forest Grove, Oregon

Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...

. He was named an honorable mention All-America by USA Today and first-team All-State as a safety, and honorable mention All-State as quarterback for the Vikings. Meeuwsen also lettered in basketball and baseball. He is a 2000 graduate of Forest Grove High School.

College career

Meeuwsen played for the Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State Beavers football

The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...

. He played for the Beavers from 2000 through 2004. In his time at OSU, he finished with 217 tackles, 20 interceptions, 29 passes defensed, 10.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. In his junior season, he intercepted six passes. In his senior season, he was chosen as a First-team All-Pac-10 selection after leading team with six interceptions and a 2004 ESPN.com All-America selection

2004 College Football All-America Team

The 2004 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN, CBS Sports, College...

.

He majored in geography while at Oregon State.

NFL career

Upon graduating from Oregon State, Meeuwsen signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie on April 29, 2005. The Dolphins waived him on May 12, 2005.

Meeuwsen signed a one-year contract with the San Diego Chargers on January 10, 2006. He was allocated by the San Diego Chargers to Rhein Fire

Rhein Fire

The Rhein Fire was a professional American football team in NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991-1992 WLAF seasons.-History:The team was...

 of NFL Europe

NFL Europe

NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...

for 2006 season. He played in all 10 games recording 25 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass deflection.

Current

Meeuwsen has spent time racing dwarf cars with the Pacific Hardtop Racing Association, racing at tracks in Oregon, Washington and California. He won a non-points main event at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Oregon on July 4, 2008. Meeuwsen, known for his level headiness, positive attitude and being easy going, has become one of the most well liked and most respected members of the club. His breakthrough in a points race came in the 2009 season finale for the PHRA at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon as he passed longtime successful dwarf car racer Kelly Gutches in the closing laps to win on October 3. The win was very popular within the PHRA club membership.

Meeuwsen has also spent time at his college Alma mater, Oregon State University, as a graduate assistant coach for the football team he was an All-Pac 10 player for. He does not travel with the team to away games, and that happened to leave October 3, 2009 open for him to race at Willamette Speedway and score his first career PHRA point’s race victory.