Brian Godfrey's road to the NFL might be a difficult one, but it won't be the most difficult the senior Slippery Rock University nose guard has traveled in his young life.

"There's nothing tougher than staring cancer in the eye," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "When it comes to mental toughness and handling adversity, Brian Godfrey has been there, done that."

Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 2000, Godfrey was forced to redshirt his freshman year at The Rock to undergo chemotherapy.

He was cleared to play in 2001, and he has been cancer-free since.

"I get checked every eight months now," Godfrey said. "I'll continue with those checkups the rest of my life. But so far, so good."

The same can be said of his football career.

A Springdale High School graduate, the 6-foot-2, 290-pound Godfrey recently ended his SRU career as a four-year starter at nose guard. He recently was named first team All-PSAC West for the third consecutive season.

Godfrey joined SRU teammate and Slippery Rock High School graduate Josh Kniess as a first-team, All-Northeast Region selection.

And Godfrey has become the 12th SRU player invited to the Cactus Bowl - an all-star game featuring the nation's top 80 Division II football players - since its inception in 1994.

"I'm honored to join that list," Godfrey said. "I was an underclassmen when some of those other guys went. I've always looked up to those guys.

"I play a position that's not very pretty. It's nice to be noticed."

Godfrey's been noticed for quite some time. Mihalik said 27 NFL teams have already been by his office to inquire about Godfrey - the most NFL inquiries Mihalik's had of any player in his 17 years as Rock head coach.

"He has the rare combination of strength and quickness for a lineman his size," Mihalik said. "Brian could do 35 repetitions of lifting 225 pounds. I've never had a player who could do that.

"(Running back) Greg Paterra could do 32 reps and he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons."

Division II players don't get drafted very often, and Godfrey admits he likely will have to go the free agency route to get a shot at pro ball.He is in the process of acquiring an agent."That will be his job," Godfrey said of getting an opportunity.The Cactus Bowl will certainly help. The game will be played Jan. 7 at the University of Texas A&M-Kingsville and will be attended by scouts from every NFL team, along with representatives from the Canadian Football League and the Arena League.Scouts and players will be there during the week leading up to the game."It's an NFL combine for Division II players, really," Mihalik said. "That week makes or breaks a lot of potential pro careers."Godfrey earned a berth despite fairly modest numbers in 2004: 25 solo tackles, 11 assists, six tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.By comparison, Godfrey had 47 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five sacks his junior year. He had three sacks in a game twice during his Rock career, tying a school record."Everybody was prepared for him this year," Mihalik said. "Teams put two blockers on him, sometimes three. … Some teams still couldn't stop him."Godfrey said he used to set individual goals in terms of tackles for loss and sacks, but didn't do it for his senior year."It just makes you frustrated because of the position you play," he said. "Some games you get no tackles, some game you might get 10. That's the nature of playing nose guard.'Tie up blockers and free up linebackers to make plays. That was my job, first and foremost."An occupational safety and environmental management major, Godfrey hopes his job continues to be playing football."I'm not ruling out anything," he said. "If I can't make the NFL, I may look at the CFL or arena ball. I don't know much about those leagues right now."Other SRU players to compete in the Cactus Bowl include Bill Ricks, Glenn, Randy McKavish, Brian Minehart, Brian Polk, Bret Geishauser, Matt Maritz, Greg Hopkins, LaMonte Coleman and Pete Geis.