Alumni: January 2009 Archives

Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster as a replacement for the injured Antonio Gates.

Daniels found out Wednesday afternoon that the San Diego Chargers tight end was backing out from the trip to Hawaii. The Naperville Central graduate told HoustonTexans.com: "It's really exciting. I can't wipe the smile off my face right now, honestly. It's going to be cool to go out there and play with all the best players in the league."

Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels did his part, catching 70 passes for 862 yards before becoming a restricted free agent this offseason. But given the economy, an unsettled labor situation and the possibility of an uncapped year in 2010, it will be interesting to see how NFL teams spend money across the next few months.

Daniels, the former Naperville Central quarterback, tells HoustonTexans.com that he would like to remain in Texas.

"I'd love to be here for a long time," Daniels said. "That's not completely up to me, but I'd definitely love to stay in Houston. I really like our team, I like our coaches, I like the guys and I think we're going in the right direction."

In choosing Cornell, Nick Mlady consulted with Zac Canty, a wide receiver from Naperville North who also ventured out to Ithaca, N.Y. After earning honorable mention all-Ivy League honors as a junior in 2007, Canty caught 51 passes for 496 yards in his senior season as the Big Red finished 4-6 overall and 2-5 in conference. Mlady and Canty didn't play together at North - and won't at Cornell - but the connection helped answer some questions and come to a final decision.

Northwestern offensive line coach Bret Ingalls will jump to the NFL and work for Naperville native Sean Payton in New Orleans. The Saints will get an assistant who apparently had some good connections in the Chicago suburbs.

ESPN.com Big Ten writer Adam Rittenberg reports in his blog:

(Ingalls) coached the Big Ten's youngest line this season and got decent results, as Northwestern tied for second in the league in fewest sacks allowed (22) and went 9-4. Ingalls' biggest contributions have come as a recruiter, as he helped land top line prospects like Brian Mulroe (Loyola), Nick Adamle (Wheaton North) and Jeff Radek (Neuqua Valley) last February.

Payton and Ingalls worked together at San Diego State in the late-1980s and early-1990s, helping develop a running back named Marshall Faulk.

One recent trend in college football has been the high school senior enrolling early for the spring semester. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen did it in his transition from Oaks Christian (Calif.) to Notre Dame in 2007. And some Naperville-area soccer players have made similar moves - Greg Jordan (Central/Creighton) and Brendan King (Benet/Florida's Edison Academic Center/Notre Dame) to name two. Apparently major college basketball has caught on to this trend, as Seattle Times columnist Bud Withers points out within this national notebook:

You've heard of high-school football seniors graduating early to get a jump on college academics and spring practice? Hollis Thompson, a 6-foot-6 forward from renowned De La Salle High in the Bay Area, was due to enroll Wednesday at Georgetown, where coach John Thompson III says he will practice but not play this season.