Andy Katzenmoyer, Then: Linebacker 1996-1998, Butkus Award winner, Now: Owner of Katzenmoyer Performance in Westerville, Coach: John Cooper (Credit: Photo by Paul Nisely/Sporting New/Icon SMI/Newscom)

Brandon Mitchell, Then: Defensive back 2002-2006, won Three Big Ten titles, Now: Law student, member of the OSU Board of Trustees, Coach: Jim Tressel (Credit: Photo by Icon SMI/Newscom)

Forty years. Three coaches. A national championship, Rose Bowl victories and too many future NFL stars to count – Champ Henson, Andy Katzenmoyer and Brandon Mitchell suited up during some of the most prolific eras in Ohio State football history.

Today, all three occupy different places in the world, but all share a similar bond, one forged over the field of more than a century of tradition.

And each played for iconic coaches, all whose place in history is marked by tremendous success, followed by less-than-pleasant exits.

In the wake of this summer’s NCAA fallout, these former Buckeye players sat down with (614) to talk about a new era in the program’s storied history.

What’s one thing about your coach that most fans or even the media never saw, or wouldn’t understand?

CH: Well, I think his temper was a lot more than people realize. They thought they knew what it was, but I don’t think they realized the level of it. They knew he was compassionate in so many ways, but I don’t think they knew the level of that, either. He did a lot of good things that no one knew about, and if you participated in those things as a player, you were almost sworn to secrecy. You did those things anonymously. Coach Hayes always said, “No one needs to know except for the people you go to see.”

AK: Coach Cooper ran the OSU program like a CEO. He oversaw everything, but trusted his judgment when hiring his staff. If he didn’t like something then he would make it known; he would do that behind closed doors and usually even the players wouldn’t see it. He was the first person to take the blame for any mistakes or losses and always gave credit to the coaches and players for great performances. Coop is a great family man and to this day I can call him and he would do what he could to help me.

BM: How much Coach Tressel cared about each player, from superstar to walk-on. He cared deeply about each of their wellbeing and their future. He invested as much as he could in ensuring they would be great men in the future – not just great athletes.

Each of you now has seen your coach leave under less-than-pleasant circumstances. What’s it like to watch that from a distance?

CH: Well, Coach was always a little bit off-the-wall – but a lot of it was an act. He was a great actor. He did that to try and get the best out of you. But, we started to get a glimpse of things that were different, things that we knew weren’t quite exactly right. It climaxed in the Gator Bowl and it was ugly. I remember watching the game with my friend and we just kind of looked at other, and said, ‘Did that really happen?’

AK: It was hard to see all the negative pub that surrounded Coach Cooper. Coach Cooper brought OSU back into the national title picture. Back in the early ’90s, OSU had come off a rough couple of years and Cooper came in and changed the way OSU viewed what players they could get. He felt that the way to bring OSU back was to go around the country and find the best athletes that fit the offense and defense that OSU runs. Looking now at the college programs that are successful year-to-year, they have adopted the same core ideas that Cooper brought to OSU more than 20 years ago.

BM: My watch was much, much closer than most. It’s very tough to see a man you know cared so greatly about his players and gave so much to his university leave unceremoniously. As one that was privy to a lot of the details, it was a tough situation for me personally.

Should players be paid?

CH: No, not really. I think if they pay your room and board and pay your tuition, that’s fair. It was different when I played because we could work in the summer and make enough money to live pretty well. Now it’s like a full-time job. In my opinion, there’s too much football. Too many workouts, too many meetings – their lives revolve around it. I mean, they have lounges in the locker room, and things like that. When we were done practicing, it was, ‘Get out, go home.’ Coach Hayes always said, ‘Don’t be a club fighter.’ He wanted us to have another life. That’s all changed. It’s gone beyond what it was supposed to be.

AK: No. Players receive enough benefits with a free education, free books, free housing and free food – plus, the national exposure they get for playing football Saturdays.

BM: Philosophically, players should be paid. Especially in revenue-generating sports. Realistically, the logistics behind determining how much to pay each player and whom to pay make it extremely tough for me to think it would ever happen.

Is the NCAA too strict with today’s guidelines, or too lenient?

CH: I think maybe their priorities are a little skewed. They’re too lenient when they should be too strict, and too strict when they should be lenient. They may have it backwards.

AK: The problem with the NCAA is that there are way too many rules. Too many gray areas that players, coaches and schools have to keep up-to-date on. In my opinion, they should revise the NCAA rules so they’re clear to all that are involved. After that, then the NCAA should go after those players, coaches and schools that continue to break the rules.

BM: I think the NCAA regulations are too cumbersome and, as a result, too strict. A lot of the rules are reactive instead of proactive, so they look like carve outs designed for very specific situations. Someone needs to take a step back and figure out what should be regulated and what shouldn’t.

People always talk about players “with their hand out,” but never seem to say as much about how many people are willing to put something in it. How often did boosters or similar people approach you in your playing days?

CH: Really, that never happened to me. It really wasn’t that bad. Somebody might buy you a beer, or someone in your hometown bought you lunch, but that happened before I got to Ohio State.

AK: Never. I think that the people who are willing to give players things know who will and won’t take what they have to offer. I knew what was right and wrong when it came to gifts and I never wanted to put OSU in a position where they could be punished for something I took or sold.

BM: I think it’s less about being approached and more about knowing where to go if you want a “handout.” Personally I was never approached, but you hear rumors about people you can talk to if you need something. It’s on the player to make a conscientious decision to do the right thing.

Aside from your teammates, who was your favorite player to watch play OSU football?

CH: When I was a freshman in high school, living so close to Columbus, I was impressed by Jim Stillwagon for the way he played defense, and Larry Zelina for the way he played offense. I eventually made great friends with those guys. That’s the best thing about being a Buckeye: you went through so many of the same things with Coach Hayes, that it felt like you played together.

AK: Eddie George.

BM: My favorite player to watch was Antoine Winfield. He dominated his position and struck fear in players who ran his way. To be his size and instill that type of fear was amazing to me.

What’s the strangest thing any coach ever did to try to recruit you?

CH: It was pretty much the basic; ‘We’d like you to come to play here. You can go to school and it’s not going to cost you anything.’ (laughs)

AK: My junior year, I was visiting Michigan during the Penn State game. Ki-Jana Carter was the starting tailback for Penn State, as well as a Westerville South grad. We were down on the field watching Michigan go through their warmups. We saw that Ki-Jana had come over to grab some water around the 50-yard line, so we decided to go wish him good luck. After we came back to the spot we were watching the warmups, one of the coaches from Michigan came over and told us that he would never talk to one of our rivals. We said nothing and at that moment I knew what d***s the men of Michigan were.

BM: I had a coach spend the night outside my house to allow me to think about whether I really wanted to take a visit to Ohio State. He told me he was going to stay until I changed my mind. We see how that turned out.

Can you remember the exact moment you decided to be a Buckeye and what made your decision?

CH: I was heavily recruited by almost every team you could think of – except Ohio State. They had not really pursued me. I was going to go to Michigan, but I wanted to go to Ohio State. Then, they asked my coach to send them a couple films. When they reviewed the films, after the lights came back on, Woody supposedly said, ‘If this kid goes to Michigan, you’re all fired!’ He came to my high school and he was like the pied piper, all the kids were around him. After school, we went to a local diner, had a hamburger and then he drove me around the back roads and had time to talk. He told me he took full responsibility for not recruiting me earlier, but he knew I wanted to go to Ohio State. He said, ‘Never let your pride stand in the way of making the right decision,’ and I decided right there.

AK: I can’t remember the exact date. I always felt that I was going to OSU.

BM: The moment I decided to be a Buckeye was after my visit, as I was being rushed to the airport on the Sunday of my official visit. My meeting with Coach Tressel ran over, so I was running late. We had just talked for about two hours, and only talked about football for 10 minutes of that time. I knew he cared more about me as a person than a player. That was important to me.

When did you realize the main difference in play from your high school days?

CH: When I was a freshman at OSU, that was the last year that freshmen were ineligible to play. We kind of just got thrown into the mix of the scrimmage squads for the varsity. We were really good. We were as good or better than the varsity at that time. But one senior, Stan White, he just smacked me around like a rag doll. A lot of my success I owe to Stan White beating me up when I was a freshman. Toward the end of the season, I was giving it out about as much as I was taking it.

AK: The first day of pads. I was third team middle linebacker playing against the first team. They ran a toss sweep to my right. I can recall taking two steps to the right and Orlando Pace picked me up and put me on my back. I knew then that this was way different than high school.

BM: Hoot and holler, my first year. It’s a drill done the first day in pads during fall camp. You realize very fast that you are playing a man’s game.

What was the strangest interaction you ever had with a fan?

CH: I don’t know. There are a lot of people who are off the wall. I think there a lot of people who are more intense than the people who actually played. When I played, a lot of people went to the game still in suits and ties. Now, you’ve got people that look like clowns (laughs) I love football, and I love Ohio State, but I’d rather sit in my barn and listen to it on the radio like I did when I was a kid – before I played. It’s just different now. I liked the stadium back then, when it was gray, dingy and wet – and it came to life every Saturday in the fall.

AK: I can’t think of one that stands out.

BM: My strangest interaction came after playing. In my first year of law school, I had a fellow student tell me he followed my career and wanted me to sign his criminal law book to give to his dad for Christmas. Not Buckeye gear – a criminal law book. It was almost insulting.

What’s your favorite off-the-field Buckeye tradition?

CH: To me, it’s how all the players who played for Coach Hayes are related in a certain way. When I was a freshman, John Hicks took care of me, and then I kind of did the same for the younger guys, like Tom Skladany. When I saw that kid show, up, I said, ‘Look at this guy, what a buffoon!’ (laughs). You see how they take it, and then after you test him, you start to help them a little bit. It’s like a fraternity. I even got to be friends with some of the older players, all the way back into the ’50s – there’s just this bond. It’s a wonderful thing. Whenever you meet a former Buckeye for the first time, it’s like you’ve known them your whole life. That’s the thing I really appreciate the most now. Coach always said you win with people, and I don’t know how he found the best people, but he really did.

AK: Buckeye Grove. I think it is really awesome that the past and future Buckeyes can go and see what the greats have done to help build the OSU program.

BM: My favorite off-the-field tradition is the ringing of the victory bell after a Buckeye win. The only time the bell is rung is after a victory and at spring graduation. When you hear that bell, you know it’s been a good day, and celebration will soon follow.

What’s your favorite on-the-field memory?

CH: The 1972 Michigan game. They were No. 2 in the country, we were 7 or 8 or 9. It was gray, drizzly, and chilly – a perfect day for an OSU-Michigan game. It was a classic. Michigan had only allowed six points or less in any game, and we beat them 14 to 11 and went to the Rose Bowl. I remember in the locker room how it was like a combination of euphoria, exhaustion, happiness and camaraderie … it all came together and it was tremendous. I’ll never forget it.

AK: Beating Michigan.

BM: I have two. The first is when the fans rushed the field after the No. 1 vs. No. 2 OSU-Michigan game of ’06. The second is my proposal to my wife on the 50-yard line after my senior season (she was a cheerleader).

What Buckeye team of the last 30 years is the best team you didn’t play on?

CH: Well, the team that won the national championship, they ended up being the best, right? (laughs) The year Keith Byars played, they were pretty good then, as well. Coach Bruce’s teams had a lot in common with us; he and Coach Hayes had a lot of similarities with us – always in condition, they were physical and they played hard. Coach Cooper’s and Coach Tressel’s teams relied more on finesse. We were more brute force.

AK: For me, it is a tie between the 1995 team and the 2002 team. 1995 had great talent and the 2002 team played great together.

BM: I have to go with the ’95 team. Look at the players AND coaches of that team …

What are the chances that Luke Fickell will get a fair shot at the permanent head-coaching job after this season? Are there a certain amount of things he and the team must accomplish?

CH: He’s in a tough spot, but I think he’s in the right spot. If I could talk to Coach Fickell right now – and I think I would be preaching to the choir – I’d say, ‘You have to come out on the first play to the last play of the season and you have to be physical – you have to make a statement.’

AK: I’d say he has a good chance. Luke is a very quality person. I grew up knowing him and his family, so I know what type of character he has. I don’t think Luke will have to go above what is expected for him to keep the job.

BM: I think he will get a fair shot. If he demonstrates that he can lead the program and get the guys to follow him, he should have a great chance at keeping the job. He’s a great coach.

What is your gut prediction for this year?

CH: The team is 16th in the country – that’s perfect. It doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you end up. I think their backs are against the wall and that’s good. If they have an urgency, that’s good. If they have a lot to prove, that’s good. Those are not negative things in my mind. Beat them into my submission by the middle of the third quarter, and everything will be okay.

AK: My guess is that OSU will finish with one loss and play in the Big Ten Championship Game.

BM: As a Buckeye, I think we have a chance to win every game. We have the talent and the coaching. We can only beat ourselves.