He attended Camden Fairview High School, where he was successful as an offensive lineman for the football team.

Andrews earned numerous accolades including Parade, USA Today and Prep Football Report first-team All-American honors.

Andrews decided to forgo his senior season at Arkansas and enter the NFL Draft, saying that he did not want to see his mother struggle with financial problems anymore.

However, Steelers owner Dan Rooney overrode both head coach Bill Cowher and director of football operations Kevin Colbert when Ben Roethlisberger was still available and the Steelers not wanting a repeat of passing on a franchise quarterback, as they had done in the 1983 NFL draft when they drafted Gabriel Rivera while local product Dan Marino was still available.

During a divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints, Andrews went down late in the second quarter with a neck injury and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

In a newspaper article released on August 4, 2008, Andrews revealed he was suffering from depression and was seeking professional help.

[8] Andrews had surgery in the 2009 offseason, but he re-injured his back at the start of training camp, which caused him to miss the entire preseason and the first week of the 2009 season before he was placed on the injured reserve list on September 15, 2009.

[11][12] He made his first career start at left tackle during the team's November 7 game against the Seahawks at Qwest Field.

[16] Andrews subsequently retired from football, moved back to Arkansas, and has expressed hopes of becoming a stand-up comic.