The saga of Brandon Ware is one of the strangest in recent memory. During his recruitment, many wondered what Penn State was thinking, going after a 2-star kid from Harrisburg, whose only other offers came from Temple and from–apparently this school exists–North Carolina Central. All we knew that he was a behemoth, but one nobody, apparently, had paid much attention to. By the time his senior season was done, however, he was a first-team AAAA player.

Image credit: the Sentinel

And from the beginning, it was clear that he had potential. It didn’t help that he reported to Penn State weighing close to 400 pounds, but even though Ware redshirted during the 2008 season, he suited up for every game. It was almost comical to watch #99 stretching and warming up before games–he was just so much bigger than his teammates. It seemed like a valuable motivational tactic for a kid who needed a kick in the pants–to get his grades up, to get his weight down, and to focus on the game. Unlike his fellow redshirts, most of whom would stay on the sidelines more often than not, Ware went through the motions, so he could get a taste of what it would be like to don the blue and white.

And it certainly caught the attention of the Beaver Stadium faithful. When my friends and I would be settling into our seats a couple hours before every game, our attention would be invariably drawn to the big guy. We had it figured out, that when we were seniors and he was a force on that defensive line, we’d create a banner for him. “The Warehouse,” it would read.

Unfortunately, as the 2011 season approaches, it seems that promise will go unfulfilled, just as Brandon Ware’s talent never had the opportunity to shine through. It was a mix of many factors that brought Ware to this point–a broken foot and lingering concerns about his grades caused him to miss the 2009 season, and last year, he didn’t seem ready to break into a deep rotation. He’d got himself into shape–or as close as could be reasonably expected–and he tried to poke his head out of Joe Paterno’s doghouse–he was a valuable part of the extra point block unit (and watching him sprint in from the sidelines had its own charms)–but only played sparingly–racking up just 2 tackles over the course of the season.

And yet, this year, it seemed that he was ready to break out. JoePa raved about him just a month ago at media day, reporting that he was down to 320 pounds, and that he was the kind of player who’d have a lengthy NFL career–one that Paterno surmised could last “eight or nine years,” if he could get his nose to the grindstone. He was expected to be a valuable member of a deep defensive tackle rotation, and his versatility and size could’ve opened up a number of possibilities, like use of 3-4 sets, with rush linebackers serving as 3-4 ends.

But of course, that will likely never come to fruition, as the ever-diligent Lions247 has broken the news that Ware was declared academically ineligible following the spring semester, and due to new NCAA regulations, if Ware were to stay at Penn State, it would cost him a full year of eligibility. The far likelier option is that he will transfer, like so many before him, in an effort to chase that NFL dream, and to their credit, the coaching staff will aid him in that goal.

His loss isn’t devastating from an on-the-field perspective; in Devon Still, DaQuan Jones, Jordan Hill, Evan Hailes, and James Terry, Penn State offers phenomenal depth at the defensive tackle position. But Penn State will have lost an especially intriguing character, one who managed to continually pique our curiosity and wonder what could be–and one who operated one of the most enjoyable, if inappropriate Twitter accounts around. How many players have been the focus of so much attention, while producing so little on the field? My friends and I weren’t alone–Ware captured the imagination of virtually every Nittany Lion fan, and that’s why this loss stings so much. We stuck with him for so long, I guess we all thought we were due to see it pay off.

It’s difficult to see a kid get handed an opportunity like this–to study at an elite university, and get an education, bettering himself as an individual while playing football and aiming for the NFL–and to squander it, but here’s to hoping Ware is just the latest exception to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s cliche that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Because honestly, would it surprise anyone to see him on an NFL roster in a couple years?

Good luck getting there, Brandon.