In the state of Nebraska, boys grow up rooting for only one football team. If that team should ask them to play when they get older, their answer is almost always, "yes," no matter if there's a scholarship being offered or not.

For that reason, the Nebraska football team has been able to corner the market on recruiting in the state, and has brought in walk-ons that passed up scholarships from other schools to be Cornhuskers. This year 29 of the team's players and seven of its starters came to Nebraska as walk-ons.

Nebraska's walk-on program has become a big part of the school's rich football tradition. The Huskers can always count on having a player come in who has lived his life dreaming of donning the red and white and working as hard, if not harder, than any of the scholarship players to do that.

On this Cornhusker team, that player is senior linebacker Scott Shanle. He is now in his third season as the starting strong side (Sam) linebacker, and playing every game since he came to Lincoln.

Shanle, a native of St. Edward, Neb., was an All-State running back and linebacker at St. Edward H.S., helping the squad make the turnaround from a 3-6 season in his freshman year to records of 10-1, 9-1 and 10-1 in his next three seasons.

He received scholarship offers from several Big 12 teams, including Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri. However, his heart wouldn't let him leave the team he grew up with.

"I was getting looks from a lot of other teams," Shanle said. "But I realized that the school I felt was the best in the country was an hour and a half away from me. They recruited me as a walk-on, so I knew I'd get a chance."

Shanle was a Cornhusker fan all of his life, and he knew that walking on at Nebraska could lead to bigger things than a scholarship at some other schools.

"It's motivational for walk-ons to see the success some of the previous ones have had," he said. "It's a lot different than at other schools, because you see that other walk-ons got a chance, and that if you work hard, you can do the same things they do."

Shanle went to work immediately establishing himself as one of the most dedicated weightlifters on the team. He redshirted in his first season on campus, but in his first season on the active roster, he played in every game on special teams and also got time at backup linebacker.

Shanle joined the team at just the right time. The two players ahead of him on the depth chart his freshman year both graduated, and the starting position was his to win.

He stepped up to the challenge with a great spring, winning the starting job and a scholarship. He recorded 55 tackles in his first season as a starter, including two for loss, helping to lead the Huskers to an Alamo Bowl victory in 2000.

Last year, he was even more productive with 56 tackles, eight for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. He was an honorable mention by both the Associated Press and the coaches for the All-Big 12 team.

Despite the honors, Shanle knows he can't stray from the work ethic he brought in with him as a walk-on.

"I'm not taking anything for granted," Shanle said. "Working hard is what got me to this point, and I'm not going to slow down now."

Nevertheless, Shanle is living a dream, and only one thing could make it better.

"If I could've set this up, I couldn't have made it any better than this," Shanle said. "I just hope that the rest of the seniors and I could win a national championship and make this the perfect ending."