By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Aug. 25, 1998

Andy Katzenmoyer is in agony; the kind of feeling so many have gotten when the All-America linebacker gets in their face. These days, there are plenty of people in his face at Ohio State University, and not just because the Buckeyes are the consensus top-ranked football team in the country.

Right now, he's academically ineligible and he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, so there are some canned quotes hanging in the balance.

Katzenmoyer is learning about tee times, condoms, and tunes in order to play football. (Allsport)

"It's a pain in the neck," Katzenmoyer said on media day. "I feel like I can't go out in public without being talked to. I go out to eat or something, I have to sign autographs for a good 15 minutes. So it's pretty much changed my life. I really don't go out anymore."

MORE IMPORTANT, IT'S HUMILIATING for the guy many believe has the potential to be the best linebacker this side of Randy Gradishar and Chris Spielman to ever play at Ohio State. So great were the expectations, coach John Cooper even had the gall to give him Archie Griffin's number. Right now, he's hitting the books just as hard as he's hit anybody in practice this summer. His grade-point average has slipped below the requisite 2.0 to play football for the Buckeyes. Same goes for two other potential All-Americans, guard Rob Murphy and safety Damon Moore.

But Katzenmoyer is the cover boy, whether he likes it or not. And it's not just embarrassing for him, it's distressing for every Ohio State alum in the country, if not all people the least bit interested in college sports.

You see, the books he has to crack are for AIDS awareness, music and golf. That's right, those are the courses he has to contend with in order to pump his GPA into the playing zone. It's the kind of scenario that perpetuates everything anybody ever said about college football factories and the lack of education going on. If Antoine Winfield can be the 1997 defensive MVP, every bit the All-America candidate at defensive back that Katzenmoyer is at linebacker this year, and continue his pursuit toward a 3.0 GPA, why should Katzenmoyer have the privilege to take what used to be known as "gut classes" for eligibility as a junior?

This is his second summer of classes, and you have to wonder what he actually has accomplished. Do you think he's declared a major course of study? Doubtful these three summer classes apply. Granted, everybody gets some electives to take ... but just how many can a football player take to retain eligibility without taking some slightly more challenging course like, say, English, math or geology?

ADMITTEDLY, 25 YEARS AGO JUST A FEW blocks from the old Horseshoe, a freshman from Southwestern Ohio managed to find himself in an education elective known entitled "White Racism in America." It was a recommended course from a fraternity brother, who claimed it was interesting and, well, easy. The only problem was you had to get there early and sign up on the first Tuesday of classes, because the teacher would only take so many students for this one-night-a-week, three-hour course.

That said, nearly 300 students piled into that only slight enlarged classroom the first Tuesday of spring quarter. Most astonishing was the number of highly-regarded football players in the class -- Tim Fox, Neal Colzie, Ron Springs and Doug France -- to name a few, present. All sorts of future NFL players. The non-football player got into the class with a lot less fanfare.

Unlike the aforementioned quartet, he showed up every week. Anyone who signed up for the class, got a C. Sign-in every week, you get a B. Do the assigned paper, you got an A. The dutiful non-football player managed the A. Of course, the football players also got their papers in and aced the course despite only cameo appearances. That was just the first hint. Some four years later, it was pretty obvious there was a game to be played in the classroom, as well as on the turf. Both turned out to be turf wars that actually do help later in life.

Nonetheless, this whole concept of what Katzenmoyer is taking to play football tells us everything we need to know about whether he will return to the Buckeyes for his senior year or not. If he stays healthy, the 6-5, 250-pound linebacker who moves and hits like a hurricane, will be a rookie millionaire in the NFL come this time next year.

And yet, he expects empathy.

"People expect more out of me, but they've got to realize I'm a human being," Katzenmoyer said. "I make mistakes. I have my good days and bad days. I had some personal problems in the winter and spring that caused my grades to drop. I really screwed up in the winter, so now I'm putting my time in."

Yeah, sure you are. In the meantime, shorten that back swing; that's a B-flat not an A-sharp; and in case you weren't sure, AIDS can be transmitted through heterosexual intercourse. You got that Andy?

"I think I react better when people doubt me," Katzenmoyer said. "I'm going to be eligible. I'll prove everyone wrong."

Wow ... and while you're at it, see if you can figure out how to write script Ohio.