It was only after blocking his seventh kick of his Penn State career last Saturday that Scott Paxson revealed his secret.

How does a defensive tackle with short arms and an even shorter vertical leap block all of those kicks?

"No one sees me, but I go out there before the play and I throw magnets on the ball," Paxson says in a serious tone. "And I got magnets on my hands."

Magnets?

"Yeah, magnets, man. I got 'em on the ball and in my gloves and it comes right to me."

Oddly enough, that joke is as feasible an excuse as any for the Penn State junior, who has found himself ranked second in the country among active players in career blocks. Though the NCAA does not keep such a statistic, the University of Buffalo's sports information department does. Paxson's seven blocks are tied with Buffalo's Rob Schroeder and Florida State's B.J. Ward. Central Michigan's James King leads the country with 12.

"We just think it's a riot," Paxson's mother Lynn said. Initially, she had inquired about the statistic through e-mail, saying, "My son has the shortest arms on the team and I find this quite amusing."

Paxson, his mother, and his high school coach can't even readily recall him blocking kicks in his days at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. After all, this is a guy known as "T. Rex" to his teammates because of his disproportionately short arms to his 6-foot-5 frame. But his high school coach, Jim Murphy, ventured a guess as to how Paxson pulls it off.

"The big thing is the surge he gets at the line of scrimmage," Murphy said. "One thing is he is strong and he has a low center of gravity. His legs are like tree trunks."

And that's the best explanation there is. Paxson's drive at the line gets him closer to the ball so he doesn't even need to jump to swat away field goals and extra points. That physical drive with his legs has made him a mainstay in the middle of the Nittany Lions' defensive line, helping anchor the 12th best defense in the country.

But that other drive -- the one that's kept him pointed toward the NFL since grade school -- may be even stronger.

It's an ambition that was slowed in high school by the onset of Type I, or juvenile, diabetes at the age of 15. Paxson was diagnosed after a series of warning signs that included him actually collapsing before one of his games as a freshman.

When it's first revealed, everything is unknown. Frightening.

Scott and his family were initially concerned about how it would affect his life that revolved around athletics. At the time, Paxson played three sports in high school.

"He was diagnosed in high school and when he was diagnosed I really didn't know much about it, and I didn't know if it was going to be something that would hinder his playing," Lynn Paxson said.

But the doctors had some good news. Not only would Paxson's condition not prevent him from playing sports, but that it was essential that he remain active. The more the Paxsons learned about Scott's diabetes, the more at ease they were.

Not that it wasn't tough to adjust to at first. The biggest thing Paxson had to learn was to balance his blood-sugar levels. With Type I diabetes, the pancreas cannot produce its own insulin and the person requires regular injections of it to be able to function. The other component is eating regularly to keep the blood sugar levels in balance.

So when one of the two doesn't happen, serious problems can result. Like last year, when Paxson nearly passed out on campus because he hadn't eaten soon enough and had to be taken to the hospital.

"It was definitely scary," Paxson said. "I snapped back into it and I was in an ambulance. And I was like, 'This is a joke, right?' That's scary. It's more of a wake up call than anything."

Paxson ended up fine from the ordeal, but it was a reminder of how diligent he had to be when it came to taking care of himself. The key was getting into a routine that started back in high school.

Taking the shots, always having food around, especially during games and at halftime, was essential. The experience of having a diabetic player was a first for Murphy as well. Both player and coach learned as they went along.

"Scott really did a terrific job," Murphy said. "He and his parents always made sure he had some type of food there ready. It was just one of those deals where you're aware of it and you just ask him if he needs a break. And he was always honest, he was someone who was always in tune with what his body was doing."

And Lynn was always there to help. Paxson said most of his conversations with his mother typically would end with Lynn asking about her son's blood sugar levels. Dad talks about football and mom makes sure classes and health are going well.

Though diabetes was always on the minds of the Paxsons, it wasn't really on the minds of recruiters. Paxson's junior year at Roman brought about recruiting mail -- floods of it -- and offers. Penn State, Ohio State, Maryland, Syracuse and Miami were just some of the Division I programs looking to land Paxson, a dominant tight end and defensive tackle.

Paxson began turning heads of scouts who weren't even necessarily looking at him. Current Detroit Lions rookie and former Virginia Tech star tailback Kevin Jones was playing at nearby Cardinal O'Hara High School.

In a showdown between the two schools in 2000, Jones' and Paxson's senior seasons, Roman pulled off a 26-21 win over O'Hara, thanks in large part to Paxson's efforts against the future NFL first-round draft pick. Murphy said one play in particular would always stick out in his mind.

"Fourth-and-goal," Murphy dramatically sets the scene. "Against O'Hara. Kevin Jones took a handoff, saw Scott Paxson coming at him, his eyes got as big as saucers and he dropped the ball. And Scott lit him up. Jones heard footsteps."

It was plays like this that attracted schools like Penn State, and it wasn't until a family visit to Happy Valley that the Nittany Lions were even aware of Paxson's condition. Not that it was a problem. Several players in the program at the time, like offensive tackle Matt Schmitt, were diabetic, as was assistant coach Brian Norwood.

"That was a comfortable feeling," Lynn Paxson said.

State College ended up feeling comfortable for Scott, too, as he verbally committed to the Lions before his senior season at Roman started. And his goal of reaching the NFL in spite of his diabetes has been on his mind ever since.

"When he was diagnosed with diabetes, that was even more of a drive for him," Lynn Paxson said. "Like, 'I'm going to the NFL with diabetes.' He has the drive."

Lynn said she realizes that very few make it to the NFL, and that there are other leagues and other alternatives if it doesn't happen. Paxson is also working toward a degree in crime, law and justice at Penn State.

But her son has set his sights high in the past, and he's proved himself every time, be it school, football or diabetes.

"He does set goals for himself," Lynn Paxson said. "He jokingly said to me when he was younger, 'You're not going to have to pay for college for me,' and I said, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' So he has set goals that he has achieved and I hope that whatever it is now that he wants, he gets."

The NFL is always looking for guys who can block kicks.