But these days, as the probable end of his 14-year football career approaches, Ach has a lot to think about.

"Football has been a major part of my life, of my identity," Acheson says, pausing occasionally to push aside notes for another Fine Arts paper that clutter his bed. "I've always liked having that as part of my identity, as well as being a little different--by being a Fine Arts major, or by playing the sax.

"Football is total emotional involvement, total release, total release of aggression," Ach continues. "I really don't know yet what the hell it's going to be like when I have to stop playing."

A 14-year habit is not easy to break, and although Acheson is uncertain about how he'll compensate for the loss, he knows he will begin spending more time playing the saxophone and writing and studying art.

He's also thinking about the National Football League, although his plans for the pros are still pretty vague. "Realistically," he says, "I think the Yale Bowl will be the last place I ever play. But in terms of my hopes and fantasies, I'd like to keep playing football. It's a dream every college football player has, I might as well try it just to answer the questions I have in my own head."

And right now Acheson has a lot of questions about his future, only one of which is whether he'll find a position on a pro roster. And even though he knows he loves to play football, even though he knows he'd like to continue to play, he has trouble isolating exactly what it is about the game that he loves. "It's hard to say what I like about football, in the same sense that it's difficult for someone who's been playing the violin for years to define why he loves it--it's almost become an extension of his arm. It's a combination of intangibles. I like the violence, I like the challenge, I like the clearly defined goals and striving to attain those goals with ten other people. It's one of the few opportunities you have to see what kind of character you possess."