Andrew Warren Katzenmoyer(born December 2, 1977) is an American former professionalfootballplayer who was alinebackerfor theNew England Patriotsof theNational Football League(NFL). He was selected by the Patriots in the first round (28th overall) of the1999 NFL draft.He playedcollege footballfor theOhio State Buckeyes,and became the first Buckeye to win theButkus Award.His playing career was shortened due to a neck injury.
| No. 45, 59 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | December 2, 1977 Kettering, Ohio,U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Westerville South(Westerville, Ohio) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Ohio State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1999/ round: 1 / pick: 28 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Early life
editKatzenmoyer was born inKettering, Ohio.He and his family moved toWesterville, Ohiowhen he was 5. He attendedWesterville South High School,and playedhigh school footballfor the Westerville South Wildcats. Katzenmoyer won the Mr. Football Award and was selected as the national defensive player of the year his final year of high school.[citation needed]
College career
editKatzenmoyer attended Ohio State University, where he played for theOhio State Buckeyes footballteam from 1996 to 1998. In the first game of his college career, he became the first true freshman to ever start at linebacker for the Buckeyes. As a freshman he recorded 12 sacks including three in the1997 Rose Bowl.[1]As a sophomore in 1997, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and won theDick Butkus AwardandJack Lambert Trophy.Katzenmoyer was a three time first-team all-Big Ten selection. He started 37 consecutive games and finished his college career with 256 tackles, 50 tackles-for-loss, 18 sacks and six Interceptions. In 2009, he was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall Of Fame.[citation needed]Notably, he was the last player at Ohio State to wear number 45.
Professional career
editTheNew England Patriotsselected Katzenmoyer in the first round (28th pick overall) of the1999 NFL draft.[2]
In Week 6 of the1999 season,Katzenmoyer became the second rookie in NFL history to record 2.0+ sacks and a touchdown in a single game, the first beingTodd Shell.[3]He had intercepted a pass fromMiami DolphinsquarterbackDan Marinoin the first three minutes of the first quarter, and returned it for 57 yards. As of 2023, only 1 other rookie,Devon Witherspoon,had achieved this statistic afterwards.
He suffered a neck injury during his first season with the Patriots. After playing in 24 games with 14 starts throughout his career, he was eventually forced to have surgery and miss half of the2000 season.[4]Duringtraining campin 2001, Katzenmoyer walked out, citing concern about a feeling in his neck. He was placed oninjured reservefor the entire2001 season.
On June 14, 2002, the Patriots released Katzenmoyer.[5]
Life after football
editKatzenmoyer is now selling property and casualty insurance and is the President of the NFL Alumni of Central Ohio.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^William Nack, "Born to be a Buckeye,"Sports Illustrated(November 25, 1996). Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^"1999 NFL Draft Listing".Pro-Football-Reference.RetrievedMarch 28,2023.
- ^Farrar, Doug."Seahawks rookie CB Devon Witherspoon makes NFL history with massive game".USA TODAY.RetrievedOctober 3,2023.
- ^Felder, Michael."Whatever Happened To: Andy Katzenmoyer, the Big Kat".Bleacher Report.RetrievedOctober 3,2023.
- ^"Patriots release LB Andy Katzenmoyer".patriots.RetrievedOctober 3,2023.