An aura, a presence, something magical -- call it what you want. It surrounds freshman running back Austin Scott.

The same air that surrounds Scott envelops another freshman on campus. His name is Simon Omekanda, a freshman on the men's soccer team.

Omekanda is obviously a little smaller than the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Scott, but the two are similar in many ways.

Scott looks like the next Barry Sanders.

Omekanda is fast, lightning quick and reminds me of national team player DaMarcus Beasley. OK, so you might not know who Beasley is, but trust me, he's good.

Anyone who's been to Beaver Stadium this year could notice the buzz going through the crowd when Scott is in the game. In only two home games, Omekanda dazzled the home crowd and is already a fan favorite at Jeffrey Field. When he came off the field in the second half of the Nittany Lions' game against Hartwick last weekend, the crowd greeted him with raucous cheers and applause.

Scott is easily the most talented player the Lions have. And if it weren't for goal-scoring machine Chad Severs, it would be easy to say Omekanda is the best player on his team.

Omekanda went to high school in Michigan; Scott had the Michigan Wolverines as his second college choice.

OK, so that last one was a stretch, but you get the idea.

Still, there is a difference between the two: With Omekanda, Penn State soccer fans haven't had to deal with watching only fleeting glances of brilliance, like Penn State football fans have had to endure with Paterno's limited use of Scott.

This is because -- for better or worse -- Omekanda's head coach, Barry Gorman, actually plays Omekanda.

And not just plays. Omekanda is a starter at forward opposite Severs and has in some games gone the entire 90 minutes.

If the crowd's reaction at last weekends Nike Classic was any indicator Omekanda -- who was the country's No. 8 recruit last year, according to Soccer America -- did things the Jeffrey Field faithful hadn't seen before.

On one particular play in the game against Hartwick, multiple defenders shut down Omekanda along the sideline. Unfazed, he cut the ball back toward the middle and took a few dribbles toward the top of the penalty box. What happened next could only be described as a world-class shot -- an off-balance, rocket off of Omekanda's right foot from 25 yards out. For those people who've never played soccer, you might not realize how difficult it is to get the velocity on the ball Omekanda did, leaning backward like he was. Again, trust me -- it's hard. Almost impossible, I'd say. But Omekanda somehow managed it.

Luckily for the helpless Hartwick

keeper, the shot was mere inches from being absolutely perfect. It hit the bottom of the right-most part of the crossbar.

The play was sensational, but not perfection. And that's how it is with Omekanda. He's a rare talent, but he's had his frustrations like any other freshman taking his play to a new level; he didn't score his first collegiate goal until his seventh collegiate game, counting the team's four exhibitions.

When Omekanda finally scored his first goal -- a game-winner against Bradley -- the freshman was so happy he was about to burst. As his teammate David Walters put it, "he just collapsed down to his hands and knees and you could see the relief on his face."

Granted, a soccer player doesn't live in the same glass bowl as a football player, but obviously Omekanda was feeling the pressure for not doing what he was brought to Penn State to do: score goals.

But despite any struggles, Gorman puts him in the game. He puts him in every game, so he can learn how to be the All-American he will someday become.

Because Gorman knows Omekanda is the future of Penn State men's soccer -- and the future is bright.

For Penn State football, the present may be bleak, but the future is also bright. The future is a player who's just waiting for more opportunities to play.

His name is Austin Scott.