It's been quite the journey for Frank "The Tank."

This Saturday, Penn grad Frank Duong will walk through the tunnel of Notre Dame Stadium as a starting safety for the Purdue Boilermakers.

Not bad for a kid who began his collegiate athletic career on the track and field team.

When Duong arrived at Purdue in 2004, he had all intentions of leaving football behind. Frank's days as a high octane running back were over.

Track and Field was his college sport.

And it was... until the second semester of his sophomore year when the itch to play football was just too strong to ignore.

"This is where I needed to be," Duong explained Tuesday while sitting inside Ross Ade Stadium.

"As much as I loved track and as much as I still love watching it, there is nothing that compares to being on this field."

So Duong walked-on to the football team. He quickly made a mark on special teams. Purdue coach Joe Tiller says Duong plays with "reckless abandon" for his body. And because of that reckless style, Duong quickly made an impact as an imposing special teams player.

Not bad for a kid who began his collegiate athletic career on the track and field team.

Over the past two years, Duong has fought through injuries and worked his way up the depth chart, each day impressing coaches, his teammates and himself a little bit more.

"It was one little dream at a time," Duong explains. "The first dream was to get on the field. Next dream was to make a tackle and then things just kept building and then it was to play more on defense."

Just before the season, coach Tiller called Duong into his office. He told Frank he was giving him a scholarship.

Not bad for a kid who began his collegiate athletic career on the track and field team.

But earning a scholarship wasn't Frank's goal. It was always about achieving great things on the field.

So he continued to work hard during fall camp. And that's when Coach Tiller awarded him with something much bigger to Frank than a scholarship. He gave him a starting spot in the secondary.

And Frank didn't disappoint. During Purdue's first two weeks of the season, Duong led the team in tackles.

And as his level of success increased, he once again began to dream bigger.

"Lately its been, 'hmm, what would I do if I caught a pick and returned it for a touchdown?"

Then came last Saturday. Duong was banged up. He had an injured ankle that would limit him to just five to ten plays.

But, of course, when he was out there---he was giving it everything he had.

So the 3rd quarter arrived and the game was tied at 10. That's when Duong's eyes lit up and the ball fell right into his hands. 58 yards later, he was in the endzone.

His dream of intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown had come true.

"It didn't seem real," Frank now says. "I was looking around and making sure there wasn't any penalties and that it was actually happening."

"It was pretty incredible."

Duong's touchdown was a difference maker. Purdue beat Central Michigan by 7 points.

And now the senior heads home to Notre Dame to not only play in front of his family and friends, but to start at the Stadium he attended as a fan growing up.

"This is Notre Dame---the Yankee Stadium of college football. Just to be able to have the opportunity to play there is something I'm thankful for and to be able to do it in front of all my friends and family is something I'll take forever."

And one of his family members will have the best view in the house. Frank's brother John is a photojournalist here at WNDU. He will be on the sidelines watching Frank through the lens of his camera.

And who knows, maybe, John will capture Frank returning an interception for a touchdown at Notre Dame Stadium.

Every other dream has come true for Frank Duong. There's no reason for it to stop now.

Not bad for a kid who began his collegiate athletic career on the track and field team.

Not bad at all.