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Reporter Jim Owczarski talked to Benet Academy athletic director Gary Goforth, who retired as head football coach after the 2009 season. Goforth coached new Chicago Bears quarterback Dan LeFevour during his time at Benet.

Upon being drafted by the Bears in the sixth round Saturday, LeFevour joins Steve Baumgartner (Benet class of 1969) as the second Redwing with a chance to play in the NFL. The program's football history dates back to 1949 as St. Procopius (the school became Benet Academy in 1967) and it is believed that heading into this draft Baumgartner is the school's only alumnus to play in the NFL.

Baumgartner was drafted out of Purdue 51st overall by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 1973 draft. He would eventually be traded to the Houston Oilers midway through the 1977 season. He retired after the 1979 season at the age of 28. Baumgartner started 27 of his 95 career games.

He was drafted ahead of such notables as Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, 1977 Super Bowl MVP & Defense Player of the Year Harvey Martin and former Chicago Bears head coach Dick Jauron.

LeFevour would be the first Benet player who played under Gary Goforth to be drafted into the NFL.

Q: Are you surprised he'll be drafted into the NFL?
A: The college success made it a little less surprising, what he was able to do in his four years of actual playing time. You look at physical attributes in terms of size and weight, good speed for a quarterback. You never know about arm strength, you never know about how they understand the game. You know, (Dan) Marino - I look back at all the guys who were fifth-round draft choices and Dan Marino was one of them. You never know where people are going to go and what people look for and sometimes it's better to be drafted in the later rounds because the pressure is not on to succeed immediately. The only difference is you've got the huge contract in the first couple rounds. But you've still got to earn it; you've still got to play when you get there. I knew he could be good at the college level. How good? You never know.

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The baseline for Dwayne Evans is set with mid-major programs from the Mid-American Conference and Horizon League. But Northwestern has also looked at the Neuqua Valley forward, and his stock only figures to rise over the next several months. In this Sun-Times News Group piece, Scott Powers breaks down Evans' well-rounded game.

Recruiting projections are still just guesswork, as quarterback Dan LeFevour has shown at Central Michigan. As part of an interesting series, the Sun-Times shines the spotlight on Benet, with an essay from LeFevour and all sorts of trivia about the Redwings.

Central Michigan quarterback and former Benet star Dan LeFevour appeared on ESPN's First Take on Friday morning. Here he talks about facing Georgia, the Heisman and his hole-in-one.

LeFevour also did an online chat with ESPN.com in which he answered questions from fans. You can find it here. Clearly, LeFevour's star is on the rise. These days he seems almost like an ambassador. Is there any doubt that he's the representative of the MAC? Of small conferences everywhere fighting for Top 25 recognition?

LeFevour looms large

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ncf_lefevour1_200.jpg Central Michigan unveiled a new, gigantic billboard of quarterback Dan LeFevour on Tuesday in Detroit. The former Benet star is now, unquestionably, the face of the program and really, the face of the Mid-American Conference.

LeFevour's success at CMU has thrown his name into the mix as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate this season. Chris Huston, the author of widely respected Heismanpundit blog, thinks LeFevour is a "legitimate darkhorse" for this season, but that he's being promoted for a serious 2009 run. The 60-foot high and 30-foot wide version of LeFevour is plastered on the back of the scoreboard at Comerica Park. The sign faces Ford's Field. LeFevour made a few brief comments about the billboard to ESPN's Graham Watson.

I think the billboard is very telling - the MAC and CMU plan to push LeFevour and a billboard in downtown Detroit will help make him more of a household name. If he's more of a household name, he has even more of a chance of becoming the first non-BCS player to win a Heisman, especially if he has another killer season like the last two. What do you think?

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Sun staff writers take the temperature of sports in Naperville, Chicago and beyond.