After what happened to Bob Jones in his childhood, his older brother Ron sometimes wonders how his sibling became so successful.

Bob, a Penn State defensive end, was the classic short, chubby kid with glasses in elementary school. He was the kid who was teased and called every generic fat name in the book.

He was told to forget his ridiculous dreams of athletic success.

His peers told him they didn't want him to go out for the youth basketball leagues.

And Ron and older brother Mike were the worst perpetrators of all.

"We used to torment him pretty good," Ron said. "We thought he'd be a psychopath after all that we did to him."

Bob (or Bobby to his parents and brothers) turned out to be quite the opposite. Instead of plotting revenge against those who mocked him, Bob proved them wrong.

He had dreams of being as good or better than his brothers were athletically. He loved sports, and he wanted to excel in an athletic arena.

Despite the teasing and backyard beatings, Mike and Ron became his biggest supporters.

"My brothers were my biggest role models," Bob said, "just watching them and wanting to be like them."

They took time to teach Bob about sports and weight lifting. They included him in backyard football games.

As kids in a neighborhood water balloon fight, the two avenged Bob after he was hit in the head with a rock.

More than anything else, they made Bob believe in himself and his dreams.

"Even as a roly poly third grader," Ron said, "he talked of the NFL and going to a big-time school. We told him if you believe it, you can achieve it."

Bob believed in himself, but his body just wouldn't cooperate. His awkward phase lasted until ninth grade.

Then his body virtually rocketed skyward, and he grew six inches in one year.

The growth spurt caused a stress fracture in Bob's spine. He was thrilled that he was growing.

On the other hand, the stress fracture was the beginning of a series of injuries. In his sophomore year at Wadsworth High School, he dislocated his thumb.

In his junior year, he tore the cartilage in his knee, which sidelined Bob for the entire football season.

He rebounded and won the Ohio heavyweight wrestling title. He then signed with Penn State, fulfilling his dream of playing for a Div. I school.

But in his senior year, Bob tore the cartilage in the same knee. He went through rehabilitation at Penn State and thanks to the support of his new team and strong faith in God, Bob was fully recovered.

"There's always someone you can turn to and your faith will help you through," said Bob's mother, Helen.

Bob called on that faith again this season after he suffered a neck injury at Ohio State.

"I was pretty worried," Bob said. "The neck's a pretty serious thing. I knew I had to have patience."

The rehabilitation and patience paid off. Bob returned to the starting lineup against Illinois and turned in one of

the best defensive performances on the team.

Bob's ability to recover from injury and his competitive attitude on the field has earned him a favorable reputation among the Nittany Lions.

"Bob Jones is one of the hardest workers on this team," coach Joe Paterno said. "He always gives 100 percent. He doesn't know how to do anything less."

Bob is a quiet man who would rather talk about the team than himself. Despite his reserved demeanor, his teammates notice his steely, resilient attitude.

"Bob has to be the hardest worker on the squad," defensive end Jimmy Kennedy said. "I knew with a work ethic like Bob's, I could be a good player."

"I think everything he did he always did his best," Helen said. "He goes out and does it at full tilt."

It's evident in his intense posture on the field. You can almost see the determination as he strains to stop a ball carrier or sack a quarterback.

But if you think Bob's sleek physique and athletic accolades exempt him from his brothers' teasing, think again.

Ron recalls the phase in Bob's life when he wanted a dog so badly that he would act like one. A doctor told their bewildered parents that one solution was to buy a dog for Bob.

"So they got him a dog," Ron said. "Then he started acting like a horse."

Bob and his brothers talk and joke regularly about everything — except maybe football. They try to avoid the topic and focus on other important things in their lives.

Things like family, other events in their lives and like most brothers — women.

Bob is dating longtime friend Krista McCall, a student at the University of Toledo. They met in sixth grade but didn't start dating until both were in college.

The couple would like to get married after each graduates. Marriage is also dependent upon Bob's possible career in the NFL.

If a pro career doesn't work out, Bob wants to work with children. He wants to help children who, like Bob once did, don't have the best confidence and self-esteem.

It would complete Bob's ascension from pudgy outcast to confident, successful athlete and student.

"I'm proud of him more for the kind of person he is," Ron said. "Athletics is secondary. What's important is the man that he is."

That man is quite a departure from the Bob Jones in elementary school.