College Football

Ordinary People
Andy Katzenmoyer and Dre' Bly no longer dominate on defense

Hard as it is to believe, Ohio State linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer and North Carolina cornerback Dre' Bly, two of the premier defensive players in college football in 1996 and '97, may not repeat as All-Americas. Katzenmoyer, a 6'4", 255-pound junior who was last season's Butkus Award winner, won't win bubkes this year. He didn't get his first sack of the season until last Saturday in the Buckeyes' 38-7 victory over Indiana, and through eight games he had just nine tackles for a loss.

In 1996 Ohio State had Mike Vrabel, an All-America, and Matt Finkes rushing from the defensive ends and turning plays inside toward Katzenmoyer, who had 12 sacks and 23 tackles for a loss. In addition, neither of the Buckeyes' other starting linebackers, Greg Bellisari and Ryan Miller, covered much ground, leaving most plays in the intermediate zone to the Big Kat.

Katzenmoyer's numbers declined slightly last year, and they have fallen further this season, now that he's flanked by Na'il Diggs and Jerry Rudzinski. Diggs, who possesses an NFL-worthy combination of power and quickness, has outdone Katzenmoyer statistically, with 50 tackles (to 49), 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks. And whereas Katzenmoyer got the majority of the blitz calls in the past, more of them this season have gone to Rudzinski, who in the absence of defensive ends with strong outside moves is being asked to come off the flank. Katzenmoyer's job is to stay home and react.

There may be more to Katzenmoyer's statistical drop-off, however, than changes in strategy and personnel. An NFL scouting director who has seen him play this season says, "Down in, down out, you have questions about his instincts. He gets blocked from the side. He doesn't see the tight end that well. He gets caught in traffic. But once he goes, he goes."

On Oct. 27 Katzenmoyer was taken to task by former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce in The Columbus Dispatch. "He's not making plays," Bruce was quoted as saying. "He's not making tackles. I don't think he's playing up to his capability."

Responding to Bruce and other detractors, Katzenmoyer says, "Let them come in and watch the film. They watch the game from a spectator's standpoint. They're not in there grading film, and they're not out there calling defensive signals."

As for Bly, during his two All-America seasons he intercepted 16 passes and broke up 17; this year he has intercepted two and broken up seven.

Eight members of last season's North Carolina defense are now in the NFL, and the pass rush that forced quarterbacks to throw mistakes in Bly's direction is gone. He also has three new starters alongside him in the secondary. With so much inexperience, the Tar Heels have used a lot of zone coverage, which doesn't lend itself to big defensive plays.

Bly bulked up in the off-season to improve against the run, but the extra weight made him slower. Recently he has slimmed down. From his high of 198 pounds in September, he has dropped back to his 1997 playing weight of 190. "That's where I need to be," Bly says. "I don't need to be at 200 pounds. I felt I wasn't as quick as I used to be, and I wasn't making plays. I was like, Yo, I've got to do something."