STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Bryan Borgoyn's dream of playing football for Penn State has ended because of a back injury he suffered in high school.

Borgoyn, a 6-foot-5, 284-pound freshman, was practicing at offensive tackle and was expected to redshirt this season and begin playing next year.

But after experiencing back pain, Borgoyn visited a spine specialist last week. He was told a combination of a fracture in his sixth cervical vertebra and a condition known as "spear tackler's spine'' would make it dangerous to continue playing contact sports.

"I'm done playing football,'' Borgoyn told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno confirmed that assessment Tuesday, saying Borgoyn would remain on scholarship as a student coach.

"Right now it appears that it is over, which is a disappointment more to him, obviously, than to anybody else,'' Paterno said. "We thought he was a fine prospect. We thought he was one of the really good line prospects coming out of high school last year, and we were very delighted to be able to recruit him.''

Borgoyn played both offensive and defensive line at Woodland Hills, last year's runner-up in the Pennsylvania Class AAAA championship, and was a first-team selection on the all-state team.

Two years ago, Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro was left temporarily paralyzed by a spinal injury suffered in a game at Ohio State. Taliaferro has made a remarkable recovery and is serving as a student coach for the Nittany Lions.