It was the end of the 2000 scholastic football seasons, and the holidays were approaching. College scholarships were stuffed in the stockings of the top talent across the country and those young men were buying shirts and hats for the school of their choice.

It is an annual occurrence that beams with potential and hope for the future.

Paul Cronin, he of the 35 catches for 609 yards and nine touchdowns, felt as if Santa had crossed him off the list. His only Div. I scholarship -- an offer to play wide receiver at nearby Akron -- had just been withdrawn.

Then he remembered an offer that had come much earlier, one that he had not given much thought to at the time.

"I remembered being at Penn State's camp, and standing there with Jay Paterno," says Cronin. "He turned to me and said, 'If things don't work out with you where you want to go or things fall through, you always have the opportunity to come back here and be a walk on.' "

That seemed as good as anything. Penn State was a good school academically and had great tradition. Plus, he'd get to play for Joe Paterno.

Cronin knew the knocks against, him, knew what caused schools to shy away.

"My forty time was pretty slow," he said. "I've never run under a 4.5. I don't think that applies to football, but that's a different story."

He hoped to write that story with his play as a freshman. But he had not been focused on football during his high school career. Basketball, baseball and track had kept him busy and away from the weight room and football-specific training.

He was going to give it a go anyway. The first day of freshman practice, he stood with a group of seven or eight receivers waiting to take his turn in a one-on-one cover drill.

"Those guys were on scholarship, so they were seeing most of the reps," Cronin says. "I was just sort of sitting around. [safeties coach Brian] Norwood grabbed me and said 'Go try to cover this guy.' "Cronin saw the opportunity to prove himself a quick study -- even if he wasn't as quick on the field.

"The first time, I got burned," Cronin said. "The second time, I covered him well but he made the catch. The third time, I made a great play on the ball to knock it down."

Cronin has good size (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) and strong instincts.

The coaching staff decided to redshirt him midway through last season, right after head coach Joe Paterno started taking notice of his play.

"He was treating me like a regular player," Cronin Says. "I was flattered and at times completely taken away by it. The other coaches had been giving me little compliments along the way, and then all of the sudden you get a compliment from Joe." By the end of spring practice, Cronin was atop the depth-chart at Hero because of Yaacov Yisreal's suspension.

Then, he made a surprise appearance in the Central Florida game as the starting nickel back.

"We knew they were going to throw a lot, so maybe I'd get a chance to get in there," he said. "My family was in tears the moment I stepped on the field. There were tons of messages on my machine when I got back."

Cronin's father, James, was reserved when speaking about his son.

"All I want to say is that we are very proud of what he has accomplished," he says.

Those accomplishments far exceed anything Cronin imagined at this stage.

"I had set little goals, personal things that meant a lot to me," he says. "When I started reaching those, I made new goals, but I had never thought much about this."

His next goal may be earning a scholarship. As a walk on, he doesn't get to eat at the training tale.

"There's enough walk-ons where it's not like I have to eat alone," he said. "But I'd rather be in there eating with the rest of the team."

Another performance like the one against Central Florida, in which he made seven tackles, three for a loss, and a sack, could get him his free ride. He made his share of mistakes against UCF, most notably a blown coverage that led to a long pass that set up a touchdown. All he wants is to learn from that. He thinks he can because he's done it before.

"One game doesn't really satisfy you, Cronin said. "I have to be able to keep stepping it up and stepping it up. There are guys who are better than me and I want to keep working until I get to the point where I am very competitive with them."