He had a uniform, a roster spot, and a scholarship.

But Penn State freshman offensive lineman Brian Borgoyn didn't play a down in what was expected to be his redshirt season, and it doesn't look like he ever will because of a career-ending spinal condition.

Borgoyn suffered a stinger, a neck injury that limits one's ability to move his arm, in a practice leading up to the Ohio State game on Oct. 26. During treatment and examination of that stinger, the Penn State medical staff determined that Borgoyn had broken his sixth cervical vertebrae sometime in high school, and had developed a condition known as Spear Tackler's Spine. They decided that Borgoyn should no longer partcipate in contact sports.

In Borgoyn, the Lions lose one of the top offensive line recruits in the country. The 6-foot-5, 284-pounder was an all-state tackle last season at Woodland Hills H.S. in Pittsburgh.

He started in the Big 33 game, and was a PrepStar All-American.

"We thought he was a fine prospect," Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said. "We thought he was one of the best line prospects coming out of high school last year and we were very delighted to recruit him ... He's really been a dedicated kid. He's a good kid. He would have been a great football player."

Borgoyn is expected to qualify for an NCAA medical disqualification, which would allow him to keep his scholarship without counting against the team's limit of 85 scholarships.

The Nittany Lions will keep Borgoyn in the program as a student coach, as they did with former cornerback Adam Taliaferro who also suffered a spinal injury.

Borgoyn has been working with the scout team defense.

"It allows him to continue to go out on the practice field and stay involved in the sport of football," offensive tackles and tight ends coach Bill Kenney said. "We want to keep him involved with the team because he is an integral part of it, and as an extra pair of eyes and an extra guy with a lot of football experience, he can help us out on the practice field."

As a true freshman, Borgoyn is unavailable for interviews, but Kenney and Paterno both said it was clear he was disappointed as would be expected. It wasn't easy for his teammates to see what he is going through either.

"It's a shame to see someone get their dream taken away from them," senior left tackle Gus Felder said. "This sport is like life for a lot of people and to see his look when he can't put that uniform on -- it's a sad thing. You don't know what to say to them. I haven't said anything about it to him. What can you say to a kid? I just know it's a sad thing.