There’s a story that Archie went to your home and personally offered you #45 if you’d become a Buckeye. At OSU, that number was worn by two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and had been retired. LGHL: Apparently, you wore #45 in high school. Plus, growing up in Central Ohio, I grew up a huge fan of the Buckeyes. All three schools have had an excellent football tradition, especially at the linebacker position and all three ran the same defensive scheme but I chose OSU because I felt that I had the greatest opportunity for success. Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. Despite being recruited by most schools across the country, it really came down to 3 schools that I was interested in attending. You must have been recruited by everybody, but, as essentially a Columbus native, did you consider committing to any school other than Ohio State? LGHL: Coming out of Westerville South High School in 1996, you were regarded as one of the top defensive players (at any position) in the country. LGHL caught up with Andy, now 43, and got his take on a number of topics. He collected 101 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a Super Bowl Championship ring for the Pats’ win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVII.Įveryone who follows college football – certainly not just Buckeye fans – remembers Andy Katzenmoyer. Andy played in 24 NFL games, starting 14 of them.
#Andy katzenmoyer pro#
The Bucks were ranked #1 all season until a four-point, November loss to Michigan State likely cost them the national championship, as they recovered from that defeat to beat Michigan and then Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl.ĭrafted in the first round (28 th overall pick) by the New England Patriots, Katzenmoyer put up big numbers again, albeit in a pro career cut sadly short by injury. The caption next to Katzenmoyer’s photo read: “Ohio State is #1, if Andy Katzenmoyer Makes the Grade.” Well, he earned an A+ for the season, and the SI prediction was nearly on the mark. Both the linebacker and the team were flying high. 1998, his final season as a Buckeye, started off with a loud bang, as Andy graced the cover of the August 31, College Football Preview issue of Sports Illustrated. Katzenmoyer played on great John Cooper-coached Ohio State teams, which went a combined 32-5 during his three years as a player. The Big Kat owned any football field he played on.
But the numbers tell only a partial story. His accumulated stats are impressive, indeed: 256 total tackles, 197 solo tackles, 50 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, 6 interceptions. Andy was named Big Ten Freshman of the year for the 1996 season and was the first Ohio State linebacker to start the first game of his freshman season.Īn All American both his sophomore and junior years, Katzenmoyer became the Buckeyes’ first Butkus Award winner in 1997 and was All Big Ten each of the three years that he played. And his impact on the team was immediate. Katzenmoyer was a prize recruit for the Buckeyes when he came out of Westerville South (Ohio) High School in 1996. The intensity he joined with his natural talents made him one of a kind, totally unique. This combination of size, speed, and agility made Andy elite. Andy’s 39” vertical jump and his 4.1 pro agility rating indicated his agility and athleticism. His 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash put him in the 82nd percentile at his position. His NFL Combine stats list him as 6-3, 258 lbs., the weight ranking him in the 98 th percentile at his position. As college linebackers go, Katzenmoyer was huge. You really had to account for him on every play.They called him “The Big Kat” – and for good reason. He runs real well from sideline to sideline. "He (Katzenmoyer) would remind me of the big kid when we played Oklahoma in '82 (Brian Bosworth)," Paterno recalled. He didn't come up with one from his own past or present teams. Paterno had to search his memory bank to come up with a linebacker who compares favorably to Katzenbach. Katzenmoyer will be Ohio State's man in the middle when the Buckeyes visit Penn State on Saturday afternoon in a matchup of two highly-ranked Big Ten unbeatens. The quarterbacks and running backs have a lock on that most prestigious award. Joe Paterno flat out said that Katzenmoyer "would certainly fit the Heisman picture if they considered defensive players." Against unbeaten Iowa last week, Katzenmoyer, a mountain of a linebacker at 6-4, 260 pounds, was so dominant that his teammates said "he probably won the Butkus Award with that performance."
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