Everyone loves underdogs. There is perhaps no bigger underdog in this draft class than Wisconsin-Whitewater’s, Quinn Meinerz. For those that don’t know, Whitewater is a Division-III powerhouse for football. They had played in seven consecutive Stagg Bowl games, the Division-III championship, from 2005-2011. They would win the 2013 and 2014 Stagg Bowls. The 2014 championship would be the last under head coach Lance Leipold before he made the jump to Division-I to coach Buffalo. Kevin Bullis would be the new head coach for the Warhawks and take them to the semi-finals in 2018 and Stagg Bowl in 2019 before losing those games. The Warhawks were poised for another run at the Stagg Bowl for the 2020 season.
Unfortunately, that opportunity never came. The Covid-19 pandemic left Meinerz and the Warhawks without their season. That left Meinerz to ultimately prepare for one of the many all-star games following the 2020 seasons. He would spend most of that time working out and training as a center instead of a guard, a position he had never played before. As a kid from a small school in Wisconsin, I found out about Meinerz pretty quickly, around September of the 2020 season, when their season was canceled. Senior Bowl invites were getting announced, and Meinerz hadn’t seen his name on an invite for the majority of the early parts of 2021. Ultimately, Meinerz would get his invite two weeks before Senior Bowl week.
As almost everyone knows now, Meinerz made the most of that week. He was the talk of Mobile the whole week. That’s right, a player from Division-III Whitewater was the talk of the Senior Bowl.
Make sure to check out all of our other 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Reports.
Player Bio
Name: Quinn Meinerz
Jersey: #77
Position: Interior Offensive Line
School: Wisconsin-Whitewater
Class: Senior
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 320 lbs
Pass Blocking (8/10)
Meinerz does some great work in his pass protection. At Whitewater, they ran a lot of wide splits for their linemen. This led to more one-on-ones for the linemen, making it more difficult for the linemen to deal with blitzes. Meinerz is athletic enough to slide and block anyone that came close to him.
Run Blocking (9/10)
This is where Meinerz shines. He is a bully in the run game. Meinerz will plow through defenders and leave them on the turf while also moving to the next level. A run-first team would be more than wise to get Meinerz onto their squad.
Athleticism (9.25/10)
If you watched the Canada workout video and the video of him on the basketball court, you know just how athletic he is. If that isn’t enough, he ran a 4.96 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day, with a 10-yard split time of 1.73. He ran the three-cone in 7.54 seconds and had a vertical jump of 32″. Oh, and that pro day was in front of 29 NFL teams. On film, the athletic ability shows up right away. He can throw a defensive lineman and work his way up to the next level to attack linebackers.
Balance (6.25/10)
If there is any discrepancy to his game at all, it’s his balance. The wide-base he played with led to some trips off the line of scrimmage due to a loss of footing. Of course, the year off definitely helped him, and he looked a lot better in this regard at the Senior Bowl.
Strength (9/10)
The workout video he posted to YouTube shows just how strong he is. He uprooted a small tree in the video where he pretended to move to the second level of the defense. If, for some reason, you haven’t seen that workout video, watch it.
Hands (7.25/10)
Another discrepancy is his hand technique. Meinerz gets his hands a bit outside on some plays. It isn’t as big of an issue as it may seem, but it is something to note.
Versatility (8.5/10)
After being a guard during his time for the Warhawks, it was a surprise to many to see Meinerz working as a center in Mobile. Come to find out, Meinerz had been practicing as a center in his backyard and basement to show he had positional versatility. Meinerz can play all three spots on the interior of the offensive line. In an interview with Justin Melo of The Draft Network, Meinerz said his best fit at the next level would be as a guard.
Football IQ (9.25/10)
Meinerz has a ton of starting experience at Whitewater. The most important part about this trait might be what he did during his time off during the 2020 season. Meinerz worked out in his basement and posted his center reps to his YouTube channel to watch and see what he could work on. Before going to Mobile, Meinerz did a lot of film study on the defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl. He also studied the Miami playbook late into the morning during Senior Bowl week to ensure he knew what he was doing during practices. It showed up. His tape study on Patrick Jones also showed.
Power (9.5/10)
Power is the name of Meinerz’s game. He will throw players around to the turf and let them know about it. In the same interview with Melo, he said he was the best fit in a zone or power-run scheme. He has a mean streak that gives him the label of a bully or menace. Take your pick.
Competitive Toughness (5/5)
Intense bursts of high competitiveness. If there were a video of how to play on the interior of the offensive line, Meinerz’s highlight tape should be involved.
Injury (4.75/5)
Meinerz broke a bone in his right hand during practices at the Senior Bowl. He wanted to play through the injury, but the Dolphin coaching staff decided against it.
Player Summary
A school that has brought players like Matt Turk, Matt Blanchard, Jake Kumerow, and Nate Trewyn to the NFL will now have a player selected on day two of the draft. Meinerz could be selected higher than 61st overall, which would be the highest a Division-III player has ever gone in the draft. Ali Marpet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently holds that record. A lot of credit should go to Bullis, Offensive Line Coach Brent Allen, and Timothy Shields, who is the Director of Football Operations at Whitewater. Meinerz is the perfect example of an underdog. A player from Division-III who is all but certain to go on the second day of the draft. Meinerz also has a t-shirt, and the profits go to a good cause. There is nothing to not like about the beast from Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Final Grade (85.75/100): Early Second Round
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