Storylines exceed yawn of NFL preseason

Homegrown talent making its mark on all levels

At this point in the football calendar, we're not yet distracted by actual games. So one minute the ball released from Jay Cutler's right hand sounds like Mozart or the angels singing, and the next thing you hear is him supposedly throwing a wide receiver under the bus.

Whatever -- that's overanalyzing a meaningless press conference after a meaningless preseason game. If you've had enough Bears hype, or are sick of Michael Vick's apology tour, here are four local story lines to follow once the Friday night lights go dark.

In an industry where the average career lasts less than four years -- and contracts aren't guaranteed -- you can't blame the Houston Texans tight end for skipping organized team activities and lobbying for a long-term deal that wasn't coming. As a third-year restricted free agent, the Naperville Central graduate signed a $2.79 million tender.

"I thought I was being treated unfairly," Daniels told the Houston Chronicle last month. "I had to do certain things. It doesn't make me feel great. Back in April, I said I'd be very disappointed if a deal wasn't done before camp. It's not done, so I'm sticking by what I said before.

"I feel great being out here with my teammates, and I love Houston, and I love playing for this team and Coach (Gary) Kubiak. This is a place I want to be for the rest of my career. I always thought that was going to happen. I feel good about being here, but I don't have those positive thoughts anymore."

It's not like football players have job security. The San Francisco 49ers recently released defensive lineman Babatunde Oshinowo (Neuqua Valley). Safety Glenn Earl (Naperville North) decided to retire last month before the Bears opened training camp.

"He's decided to hang it up," Earl's agent Craig Domann told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times. "He's been dealing with some injuries since he came out of Notre Dame. I think he felt like it was time to move on."

Daniels' youngest brother Hayden -- a quarterback on the sophomore level last season -- is said to be working out at wide receiver for Central. Harrison, another brother, is one of two sophomores reportedly in the mix to become Princeton's starting quarterback.

"Tommy Wornham and Harrison Daniels looked good this spring," Princeton coach Roger Hughes was quoted last week in The Times of Trenton (N.J.) off an Ivy League media day teleconference. "Tommy is probably a little better thrower; Harrison is a great athlete (and) probably not as good at throwing it as Tommy has been. But Harrison has a very athletic family. ... Harrison certainly has some of (Owen's) traits when he has the ball in his hands. He can run and has great quickness.

"They know the system; it's a matter of executing the system. And it's going to get down to how well they do that."

The Ivy League actively recruits this territory. In the next few months, it wouldn't be surprising to see at least one or two local players deciding to play for one of those elite academic institutions.

Pennsylvania senior offensive lineman Matt Schaefer (Central) started all 10 games on the right side for the Quakers last season. Nick Mlady, an all-state running back at North last year, is beginning his Cornell career. Harvard sophomore defensive end Dave Salutric (North) and Yale sophomore offensive lineman David Bollweg (Neuqua) are also on Ivy rosters.

Harvard and Pennsylvania were picked first and second, respectively, in the league's preseason media poll. If you're willing to search for it, the Ivy has a television presence, with select games broadcast on ESPNU, Versus and the YES Network.

The Central Michigan quarterback is on watch lists for all sorts of national awards. LeFevour, a Benet graduate, is also back up on a huge billboard at Comerica Park in Detroit. According to ESPN.com, there are six quarterbacks on NFL rosters from current Mid-American Conference programs. That total doesn't even include Chad Pennington (Miami Dolphins) and Byron Leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), who starred at Marshall, which is now part of Conference USA.

Coming off four straight appearances in the Division III playoffs, at least the Cardinals will be able to find out on the field. They've been picked by their league's coaches to finish first in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for the fourth consecutive season. They're either the third- or eighth-best Division III team in the country, depending on which preseason poll you check.