Pat Engle was a stellar football player during his three seasons at Otterbein, but performed even better off the field of play. A standout at Westerville North H.S., Engle enrolled at the Naval Academy in 1988 where he planned to become one of the best defensive lineman among NCAA Division I institutions. However, love would intervene as Engle found himself back home to marry his high school sweetheart, Janet, who had left Kentucky. The marriage led to a daughter, Cindy, who was born around the time Engle enrolled at Otterbein in 1989.

Engle began to evolve as one of the top defensive lineman in Division III, tallying 74 tackles in his first season to warrant the “Most Valuable Freshman” award from his teammates. He broke through in 1990, leading Otterbein with 86 tackles despite missing the final game of the fall. His efforts garnered Defensive MVP honors from the Cardinal coaching staff.

Engle received the highest accolades in 1991 as a junior, his last with Otterbein. He tallied 66.5 tackles (eight for loss) and 3.5 sacks en route to Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Defensive Player of the Year honors. In addition, he captured his second-straight All-OAC spot and was voted honorable mention All-American by Football Gazette.

Pat and Janet, while raising Cindy, were enrolled full-time at Otterbein those three years. Pat carried above a 3.70 grade-point average while Janet was a perfect 4.0. Pat, who worked about 20 hours a week at a trucking company during the academic year (and a full 40 during the summer), also received academic all-conference and all-district recognition. He left for the Naval Academy soon after the ’91 season but later returned to graduate from Otterbein.