![]() Gil Brandt, former Cowboy talent bloodhound and current NFL scouting guru, calls Katzenmoyer Oa see-and-hunt guy. But what he does best is chase the ball.O Andy could play outside, inside, anywhere. OI think he could even carry as much as 260 pounds and be a down lineman. OAndy will blow you up fast in a face-on duel,O says Buckeyes coach John Cooper, who played at Iowa State with KatzenmoyerOs father, Warren. In truth, taking the play to the sidelines deals right into KatzenmoyerOs hole card: his speed and hunger for tracking prey. You try to take the play away from him, but heOs in the middle. ![]() But Katzenmoyer is 30 pounds heavier and much faster. Says Rockets coach Gary Pinkel: OI played with Jack Lambert at Kent State, and we all know how good he was. But still he had five solo tackles and three assists and why does it seem like all of his tackles are vital to the cause?Įven in Ohio StateOs 49-0 demolition of out-classed Toledo, it was hard not to marvel at Katzenmoyer, who hardly sweated in the few series he played. In Ohio StateOs opening night 34-17 beating of West Virginia, Katzenmoyer again was a point of emphasis for the Mountaineers, who gamely adopted a familiar strategyNgo around him. He was faster, quicker and had far more endurance. ThatOs a lot of processing going on.OĪnd Katz not a hard worker? Well, this August Katzenmoyer showed up for Ohio StateOs summer drills at a chiseled 255. OAndy had the responsibility of making the calls and getting everybody in the right sets. OWe played a lot of check defenses,O says coordinator Fred Pagac. But was that all his fault? The sophomore Katzenmoyer had more responsibility than the freshman version. Thus, his second season ended with the Buckeyes at 10-3. The Kat did foolishly bulk himself up to nearly 270 pounds by then. ONo matter what they say in Columbus, Katzenmoyer did not play as well as he did as a freshman,O says one pro scout. In his inaugural season, Katzenmoyer notched 85 tackles, 23 for a loss, and 12 sacksNnumbers that, owing much to three of the four down linemen in front of him ascending to the NFL, changed in his sophomore year to 97, 13 and 2. Uh, Andy, thatOs the number that Archie Griffin, two-time Heisman winner, wore. 45 at OSU, the number heOd worn in high school. Not that a spectacular debut was any surprise to the confident Katzenmoyer, who asked that he be given uniform No. The prodigious rookie had been allowed to roam free in a senior-dominated defense while 11-1 Ohio State won the Rose Bowl and came close to a national championship. His impact was evident early in his freshman season. Opponents learned quickly to tailor game plans away from Katzenmoyer. ![]() OThe more physical it gets, the more he likes it,O says Florida StateOs Bobby Bowden. What sets Katzenmoyer apart from all the terrific linebackers of Ohio State past ( Chris Spielman, Pepper Johnson, Tom Cousineau, Randy Gradishar, et al.), what distinguishes him from formidable middle backers everywhere is not just his size and strength (450-pound bench press), coupled with his athleticism (38-inch vertical leap) and speed (4.58 40), but a maniacal zest for competition, a passion for battle, an intense desire to improve. Since when has Ohio State been the nationOs cradle of learning? Moreover, since when have football players from any major college not taken absurd crip courses to get by? ItOs enough that KatzenmoyerOs football knowledge is evident every time the 6'4", 255-pound junior sets his quick feet on the grid: Squash the guy in the other uniform. When Andy Katzenmoyer, the lapsed scholar who plays middle linemonster for Ohio State, splattered IowaOs Tavian Banks all over his Heisman Trophy clippings last season, did it matter to Banks whether his attacker knew the precise yardage between tee and green? When the freshman Katzenmoyer chased down Arizona StateOs Jake Plummer in the O97 Rose Bowl, think Plummer cared if he could tell the difference between Tchaikovsky and Ted Kaczynski? Did the Big KatOs specific awareness of AIDS enter the mind of West Virginia coach Don Nehlen, who had to concoct an entire game plan to neutralize the Butkus Award winner? Ohio StateOs preseason trek toward ArmageddonNall the commotion over whether or not Katzenmoyer could pass those summer school classes in Golf, Music and AIDS AwarenessNhas long since given way to breathless relief, even an abject cynicism. Who is the best? Andy Katzenmoyer knows the answer to that
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