Jim Karsatos Wants to Go Out a Winner for His Alma Mater

Second-guessing alumni sitting in the stands cause enough grief for college football coaches. So consider the plight of Ohio State Coach Earle Bruce as he readies his team for its Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl game against Texas A&M.;

For the first time anyone can remember, an alumnus will quarterback the Buckeyes against the Aggies. Jim Karsatos secured his degree in communications at graduation ceremonies recently.

“Isn’t that great?” said Bruce, referring not to Karsatos’ new status, but to his degree.

But the quarterback was not alone.

Joining Karsatos, a 24-year-old from Sunny Hills High School, in the graduation line were reserve running back Barry Walker, backup flanker Jamie Holland and backup tight end John Hutchison. They all were fifth-year seniors.

“I don’t think people really realize how long I’ve been around,” Karsatos said. “I wasn’t in the picture very long.”

In the Cotton Bowl, he will start his 25th game in a row. He has been the starting quarterback for two years. But as Bruce likes to joke, “It seems like he’s been here as long as I have.”

Karsatos said, “Sometimes it does seem that way.”

He was a member of the 1981 recruiting class. He didn’t enroll until the winter of ‘82, opting for knee surgery the previous fall. He redshirted the ’82 season and became a full-fledged member of the squad in ’83.

He finished with 227 credit hours, 31 more than needed.

“Once you get past the basic requirements and you get into your major and you get to do things you like, that really makes it a lot easier,” Karsatos said.

Filling time with a class in scuba diving made it fun, he said, and a couple of classes in economics brought enlightenment. As for his major, he interned at Columbus TV station WBNS in the news department the last two summers.

He figures he could go to work now at a radio or a television station and not be in the way as an editor. But no job offers have come, and Karsatos said he hasn’t pursued his career.

Because as much as he is proud of his degree--”It’s probably the biggest moment of my life”--football has become a way of life.

He had to be reminded he is an alumnus now. He can complain if the quarterback doesn’t get to pass enough.

“But we have such a good running attack, I wouldn’t want to throw it any more than that unless I really had to,” Karsatos said. “More than anything, I want to win the Cotton Bowl. I want to win my last game as a Buckeye.”