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Former Purdue baseballer Rod Metzler set for flyover.
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Former Purdue student-athlete Rod Metzler will pilot an F-16 during Saturday's flyover.
 
Former Purdue student-athlete Rod Metzler will pilot an F-16 during Saturday's flyover.
 
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Nov. 21, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Former Boilermaker baseball player Rod Metzler will get a little bit of a different view of the Purdue University campus this weekend. Now a captain in the Indiana Air National Guard based in Fort Wayne, Ind., Metzler will pilot one of two F-16C Fighting Falcons as a part of a four-plane flyover of Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday prior to the Purdue-Indiana football game.

"I wasn't raised in Indiana, but my father is from the state so I was grandfathered into the IU-Purdue rivalry," Metzler said. "Purdue has played a huge part of my life, and I'm a fan of all the Boilermaker teams."

A career .296 hitter at Purdue, Metzler was a three-time academic all-district honoree for the Boilermakers and was selected in the 21st round by the Kansas City Royals in the 1997 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

After a five-year career as an infielder in professional baseball, Meztler found the pro game different from his days in West Lafayette and decided to turn in his baseball uniform for a flight suit.

"I didn't realize it when I was in school, but looking back I really enjoyed the camaraderie I shared with my Purdue teammates," Metzler said. "Having that same team spirit and working towards a Big Ten championship was great. That's the exact opposite of what goes on in pro ball."

After looking around at different jobs, Metzler decided put his aviation and administration degree he earned from Purdue in 1997 to good use and joined the Indiana Air National Guard. Now a full-time member of the Guard, Metzler has been in the air ever since.

Saturday's flyover of Ross-Ade Stadium will have a Black and Gold twist to it, as four other Purdue graduates will join Metzler in the air.

Metzler and Maj. Rob Myer, class of 1992, will pilot the F-16s from the 163rd "Blacksnakes" Fighter Squadron, while Lt. Col. Thomas Colby, class of 1988, Capt. Vanessa Mahan, class of 2002, and Capt. Nathan Malafa, class of 2004, will make up three-fourths of the two-seat F-15E aircrews from the 335th "Chief" Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

 

 

As for his thoughts on retiring head coach Joe Tiller, Metzler says he's going to miss Tiller Time.

"Going to games when I was in school you never knew what you were going to get on a Saturday," Metzler said. "It is remarkable what coach Tiller has done, and I can't really add to all of the great things that have already been said about him.

"All of the bowl games, his team's records and the overall competitiveness of the program in the Big Ten have been impressive. I'm proud of Purdue athletics and the football program. I wish he wasn't leaving, but I understand."

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