Sometimes, it just happens, regardless of how hard a player works. Sometimes, despite how badly that player desires to be out there on the field battling with his teammates. Sometimes, that which seems so simple, is entirely out of that player's control.

And when it comes to football, more so than all the other sports, there are few guarantees that disprove the last play that player ran isn't going to be his last -- at least for quite some time.

Perhaps no one on the Penn State football team realizes this more than BranDon Snow.

The rising redshirt junior has dealt with a Nittany Lion share of disappointments over his career. The latest coming more than a year ago, in August, when he fractured his right foot during summer practice.

"It was in a half-line drill, where coach Paterno puts these cylinders down. Originally I thought I got leg whipped, I finished the drill, went over to the side to take a knee [and] it was hurting," Snow said.

Originally, Snow was projected to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks, but the foot was not healing as fast as expected. Up until the injury, he was listed as the starting middle linebacker on Penn State's depth chart. The converted fullback had made the switch after spending a full season backing up Sean McHugh in 2003 where he finished the season with only three carries.

The 2004 campaign was supposed to be his year to shine.

"It's kind of hard, the hardest thing about it was that first game, walking into the stadium on crutches, knowing you can't get out there with your teammates," Snow said.

And there was nothing left for him to do but endure. Endure through another losing season, practically watching from the sideline as he had done the previous year as the second fullback.

"I pretty much sat around. After my surgery, I attended every practice and meeting, [and] had to ride bike ... towards the end of the year I was able to really practice at full speed," Snow said.

But by that time, it was too late. In the midst of a season where plenty went wrong on the offensive side of the ball, there were few weak links on defense, especially at the linebacker position. With Paul Posluszny, Tim Shaw and Dan Connor solidifying themselves as the Lions starting trio of linebackers last season, Snow had a fairly good idea that he wouldn't fit into the plan on defense.

So this season, Snow has gone back to where he began, playing fullback. He believes playing both positions in the past has distinct advantages that will help him this fall.

"From an offensive standpoint, you can read defenses a whole lot better. You know how to play different blocks, you know how defenders are going to try to get off blocks. Defense helped a lot," Snow said.

"Blocking is what I'm good at. That's one thing I've always been proud of."

But Snow hopes that he will be able to do more than just block for the entire game. He is looking to improve on those three handoffs he received in 2003.

"It's the hope that they give you the ball every now and then ... I've never been a selfish player, that goes back to high school and everything, I never had the flashy stats," Snow said.

But struggling and fighting is nothing new to the Wilmington, Del., native. Ever since he was 9, Snow worked in a corner store, serving customers and different foods, he has learned how to manage in spite of circumstances.

"Grandpa taught me a whole lot about hard work, nothing comes easy in life," Snow said.

His grandfather's words will be vivid in his mind tomorrow when he trots onto the field to compete in the annual Blue-White game. He'll play hard, perhaps like never before, he knows the game can be taken away in an instance.

"I say nothing is guaranteed, last August kind of put that in my mind. Everybody is subject to injury, it's just the sport we play."

And with that, Snow won't make any predictions about how well he'll play this fall.

"I'll let you know Sept. 3 when we kick off," he said.