* This article is another in our ongoing series profiling Penn State's class of 2012.

One of the more dramatic aspects of Evan Schwan's journey to Penn State is that the journey almost never happened. In fact, at one point, it looked as though high school football wasn't really going to be an option.

That's because Schwan's L5 vertebra was fractured during two-a-day practices prior to his junior year, forcing the Harrisburg, Pa., native to visit a chiropractor and endure a tough rehab regimen during his first full year of varsity football. While the injury wasn't so serious as to rule out a return to the sport, his shot at earning a top spot on the depth chart was gone, and that may have been what hurt the most.

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