BUTLER TWP — Two years ago, Lee Stalker wasn't ready for his football career to end.

He still isn't.

The Butler senior defensive end-outside linebacker accept a bid as an invited walk-on from Kent State University's squad.

Stalker nearly saw his grid career reach an abrupt end early in his junior year when doctors discovered the second and third vertebrae in his neck had been fused together since birth.

"The original diagnosis was I didn't have enough mobility in my neck to play football, that it was too risky,"Stalker said. "They told me I couldn't play anymore."

One doctor researched the situation, however, and found that the particular two vertebrae that fused in Stalker's neck did not pose any additional risk of injury.

"I missed two games and I was back on the field,"Stalker said.

Now, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Stalker will try to earn his way back on the field with the Golden Flashes after enjoying a successful senior season, his only year as a starter with the Golden Tornado.

Stalker is going to major in architecture and was planning to attend Kent State before he got the invitation.

"They have an exceptional program in that field,"he said. "Getting the chance to play football there is a bonus."

Kent State has a roster limit of 105 players. The university invites nearly 100 walk-ons each year and keeps only a handful of them.

The odds don't bother Stalker.

"The coaches told me that 95 percent of them quit,"Stalker said of the walk-ons. "They either don't want to redshirt, don't want to go through the drills, whatever.

"The advice I received was that if you're just in love with wearing the jersey, you're not gonna make it. If you're here to work and want to be a football player, you'll make it."

Former Butler coach Garry Cathell said he likes Stalker's chances.

"The coaches at Kent State like his frame and he's a strong, athletic kid,"Cathell said. "Lee will do a nice job. He has a strong, intense desire to play and you need that as a walk-on."

Doug Martin is 12-22 in three years as head coach at Kent State. He recently signed a new four-year contract after guiding the Golden Flashes to a 6-6 record overall, 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division last fall.

Last year marked only the third time in 28 years that Kent State posted a winning record in MACplay. The Flashes won only one game in 2005.

The jump to six wins last year marked the fourth-largest turnaround among NCAADivision I schools. Arkansas, Rice and Wake Forest all improved by six wins. Each went to a bowl game as well.

Kent State's training camp begins Aug. 2. Stalker plans to attend a workout session with returning players before then.

"I'm going up there for a week to get a feel for the speed of the camp and that level of play,"Stalker said. "I've been lifting and working out ever since our high school season ended.

"If I go out there and get cut, at least I'll know I tried. If I compete and beat somebody out for a scholarship — hey, I can't lose anything."

If he does get cut this year, Stalker said he'll return to try again in 2008.

"They give you the option of coming back the following year if they cut you," Stalker said. "If it happens, I'll work out for another year, get stronger, come back and try again.

"I want to play football."