The other day the Jacksonville Jaguars reached verbal agreements with 18 undrafted free agents. They are from programs like Nebraska, Colorado and Wheaton College.

Yes, there was a contract for Pete Ittersagen, the 5-foot-10-inch cornerback out of Wheaton North and Wheaton College. The Division III All-American finished his career with 60 passes broken up, which is fifth all-time on that level, and also distinguished himself as a return specialist. If you can add value on special teams, you increase your odds of making an NFL roster.

Ittersagen is hoping to join Andy Studebaker on the NFL level. Studebaker, another Wheaton College product, is a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Courtesy of Gary Goforth, Benet's football coach and athletic director, here is the program's schedule for next season. The Redwings will play home games at Benedictine. Note that road games at St. Joseph and Nazareth are slated for Saturday afternoon kickoffs.

BENET 2009 SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 at Oswego East
Sept. 4 vs. Montini Catholic
Sept. 12 at St. Joseph
Sept. 18 vs. Carmel
Sept. 26 at Nazareth
Oct. 2 vs. St. Viator
Oct. 9 at Joliet Catholic
Oct. 16 at Marist
Oct. 23 vs. St. Patrick

Be sure to check out Paul LaTour's Beyond Preps column featuring Naperville North graduate Jordan Tassio. The Western Illinois two-sport athlete is somehow splitting his time between baseball and spring football.

UPDATE: This tip comes from blog maestro Sean Fuchs. Mike Triplett has the call on NOLA.com: "Sean Payton beats the Easter bunny but not his wife in Crescent City Classic."

It's always good to have goals, and while Sean Payton would no doubt like to win a Super Bowl for New Orleans, right now he'll settle for beating the Easter bunny.

At least that's what Mike Triplett reports in his Times-Picayune blog. Payton, the Saints coach and Naperville Central graduate, is planning to run the 6.2-mile Crescent City Classic on Saturday, just like he did last year.

Payton told Triplett: "And about midway through this race, this Easter bunny -- in full outfit -- is stride for stride with me. And I'm thinking, 'The last thing I need is the Easter bunny to beat me in a 10K.' I mean, he's got the fur and everything."

Apparently the race includes everyone from elite Kenyan runners to weekend warriors to casual joggers.

For the record, Payton did finish strong and outrun the bunny last year, completing the course in one hour, seven minutes after about two months of training. No word yet on Gatorade showers from his players after the race.

Justin McCareins has played in the NFL longer than he ever dreamed, but the Naperville North graduate would still like to hang on for another year. The wide receiver continues to work out in Florida after a reasonably productive season with the Titans (10 starts and 30 receptions for 412 yards).

This week Tennessean writer Jim Wyatt took an interesting look at unemployed players who only need one phone call to change everything.

"It is kind of a weird feeling,'' McCareins told Wyatt. "My agent will call me here and there and say, 'We'll find out more next week, we'll find out more next week.' Now it's, 'We'll find out when the draft comes around.'

"But who knows? It could be we'll get a call tomorrow. It could be we won't get a call until August, if then. You don't know what is going to happen, but you have to be ready.''

After eight NFL seasons, McCareins said he isn't playing for money: "I just want to continue to play at a high level. And if I can't do that it's a different story. There might not be any interest at all. There hasn't been much so far, and I'm getting up there in years kind of."

From afar, Owen Daniels seems like someone who gets it, so it wasn't a total surprise that the Texans Pro Bowl tight end didn't skip the team's offseason conditioning program. But the thought did cross his mind, as he told John McClain of the Houston Chronicle this week.

As a third-year restricted free agent who was tendered the maximum, Daniels is guaranteed a one-year deal worth $2.79 million, and any other team that signs him would have to forfeit first- and third-round picks, assuming the Texans don't match the offer. That's a steep price, but so is the $20.1 million in guaranteed salary Tampa Bay recently gave Kellen Winslow Jr.

The Naperville Central graduate told McClain that he'd like long-term security in Houston, but also realizes that the Winslow deal won't hurt his negotiations.