By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

Stacy Andrews says the footwork he learned as a thrower at Ole Miss helps him as a lineman. Photo provided

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - Stacy Andrews' Olympic potential couldn't hold off his NFL dream.

A possible contender for a spot on the U.S. team in the discus and hammer throws, Andrews, a Bengals offensive tackle, turned his back on track and field to concentrate on football.

And not even the emotional tug of the opening ceremony of the Summer Games, scheduled for Friday in Athens, can make Andrews regret his decision.

He'll be watching the competition on TV, though, especially the weight events.

But he prefers the grind of Georgetown to the glory of Greece.

"I love track and field and all, but there's something new I'm doing right now, and I'm loving it," Andrews said Wednesday between practices at Georgetown College. "I wish I had started earlier, but I can't turn back time."

Andrews, a fourth-round draft pick (No. 123 overall), spent five years at the University of Mississippi. He participated in track and field for this first three years, setting school records in the discus, indoor weight and outdoor hammer throws, and earning all-America honors for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2002-03.

He redshirted as a football player in his fourth year and participated - for the first time in high school or college - as a right tackle on the Ole Miss Cotton Bowl championship team. He played in only five games but was considered a draft prospect because of his athleticism.

He is the biggest player on the Bengals' roster, at 6 feet 7, 346 pounds, and has had an impressive two weeks of training camp.

Andrews is listed as second string to starter Willie Anderson at right tackle. And with the offensive line banged up, Andrews is likely to get extensive playing time in the preseason opener Saturday night at Tampa Bay.

"He seems to learn fine," coach Marvin Lewis said of Andrews. "The movement and changes that occur on the defensive front, and them adjusting and making the different line calls and the things that they have to do in the spirit of the snap, once he's got it he's got it.

"He's a very physical man and very, very talented. He has done a nice job in the basics of pass protection."

It wasn't football or track that was Andrews' first athletic love; it was basketball. In fact, it was his desire to play basketball that prevented him from playing football in high school or until the end of his college years.

He played center, and track was what he did when he wasn't playing basketball.

At Fairview High School in Camden, Ark., Andrews was second in the state in discus as a junior and won the event as a senior.

He resisted all overtures from his high school coach and college coaches to play football - until the very end.

But the track and field experience has helped him as a football player.

"Foot technique, in discus, hammer and weight, you've got to be real technical about it," he said, "just like playing the offensive line."

Plus, football talent runs in Andrews' family.

Andrews, 23, has a younger brother in the NFL. Shawn Andrews, 21, an offensive tackle, was the first-round pick (No. 16 overall) of the Philadelphia Eagles this year. Shawn Andrews, who played at Arkansas, is 6-4, 340.

"I played in eighth grade," Stacy said, "because Shawn was always playing.

"I still said basketball was my thing. But when I got out there (at Ole Miss), I started loving football more and more. I have no regrets at all."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com