By Rusty Miller
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Mike D'Andrea stands 6 feet 3 and weighs 248 pounds with the chiseled chin and muscled physique of the high school football star he was just three years ago. Somehow, he got lost when he came to Ohio State.

D'Andrea stepped on campus as one of the most heralded players in the nation, a first-team USA Today All-American who was ranked by more than one recruiting service as the nation's best prep linebacker.

To most people in Buckeye Nation, he had vanished.

Through two years with the Buckeyes, he has yet to start a game and has totaled 31 tackles. Heading into the Buckeyes' season opener against Cincinnati on Sept. 4, he doesn't deny that he is almost a forgotten man on Ohio State's defense.

"That could be a possibility, because I haven't really done a whole lot," D'Andrea said.

Finally, it's all starting to fall into place for D'Andrea.

He knows the defense and is healthy. He's caught in the middle of a tight battle with Air Force Academy transfer Anthony Schlegel for the starting job for the Buckeyes.

D'Andrea came out of Avon Lake High School with "can't miss" stamped on his forehead. Before he ever attended his first class at Ohio State, there was speculation that the brawny kid who says one of his hobbies is weightlifting might just step right in and take over.

It never happened. Slow to pick up the Buckeyes' elaborate defensive sets, and stuck behind All-American Matt Wilhelm, D'Andrea was just a bit player as Ohio State zoomed through a 14-0 season and won the national title.

A year ago, he battled nagging injuries and two more senior linebackers - Rob Reynolds and Fred Pagac Jr. - before a shoulder separation ended his season three games early. He finished the year with 24 tackles in 10 games coming off the bench.

What's more, an almost unknown fellow recruit, A.J. Hawk, blossomed in scarlet and gray. It is Hawk and not D'Andrea who is getting All-America mention these days while D'Andrea is left to watch and wait for his chance.

"It seems like it's been forever since I last hit someone," he said.

He might have something to prove to opposing ball-carriers or to Ohio State fans with short-term memory, but not to his teammates.

"He's probably one of the most improved linebackers we've had since he came in his freshman year," linebacker Rob Carpenter said.

D'Andrea's teammates respect him for what he has been through, and for what he can still achieve.