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Naperville North and Nebraska graduate Corey McKeon will attend the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rookie mini-camp on Thursday as an unsigned free agent.

McKeon is trying to become the sixth Naperville native to currently play in the NFL, three of whom in Chris Brown, Justin McCareins and Glenn Earl already hail from his father's North program . The others are Central grad Owen Daniels and Neuqua grad O.J. Oshinowo.

What makes the North program so good at producing NFL-caliber players, or is it just a coincidence?

Neither Naperville Central grad and NIU kicker Chris Nendick nor Naperville North grad and Nebraska linebacker Corey McKeon were picked at this past weekend's NFL draft.

So both will spend the next day or so waiting to hear from prospective teams about signing on as a free agent.

Check back in The Naperville Sun and on-line at either napersun.com/sports or napersun.com/heatindex for updates on the two local players.

It's impossible to predict the NFL Draft, especially the later rounds. Everyone agree?

When it comes to Naperville North grad Corey McKeon of Nebraska, he's equally unsure about who's interested in him the most. Dad -- North football coach Larry McKeon -- doesn't have a great feel either. That's expected.

Here's what they do know: 28 of the 32 NFL teams watched McKeon run a 4.5 40-yard dash and leap 36 inches in his vertical during his pro day at Nebraska this spring.

Narrowing the list even further, McKeon got calls from teams like Indianapolis, Washington, Philadelphia and the New York Giants. They mainly wanted to know how to get a hold of him Sunday, just in case. That's common at this stage of the game.

Here's what else: McKeon's not getting a lot of calls from teams who run a 3-4 defense. On the flip side, the Colts talked about scheme a great deal with McKeon, who sees himself fitting in as an outside linebacker who plays outside the box and drops in pass coverage.

trav8587 posted this video last month that shows Justin McCareins having a bad day against the Baltimore Ravens. This Jets fan is not sad to see the Naperville North product back with the Titans.

The New York Jets at Baltimore: where McCareins' drops multiple passes that could have tied the game... glad he was cut.

By D.J. Wanberg

I don't know why I'm so fascinated by the NFL Draft. Perhaps, I'm so desperate to make the playoffs in my fantasy football league, I want to get started on my research early.

As I was going through The Sporting News' draft preview, I saw in the inside linebackers section that former Naperville North star Corey McKeon 6-0 3/8, 235 pounds) is predicted to be a fifth-round selection.

TSN states that "McKeon is somewhat of an odd fit, because he lacks the great bulk of a traditional middle linebacker and also the elite athleticism of the NFL's shorter middle linebackers used in the Tampa-2 (defense). He grades out well on film, though. McKeon will likely be drafted lower than rated here (fifth round), but in time, will prove to be a solid starter."

It's been two weeks and two days since Chris Brown signed a two-year deal with the Houston Texans worth a reported $3.6 million. The Heat Index took a look at how the blogosphere responded to the news of the former All-American at Naperville North signing his free agent deal.

Pro Football talk was bare bones, but did offer a bit of analysis by mentioning Brown would have to compete with Ahman Green for carries.

By Brad Engel

Naperville North alumnus Justin McCareins agreed to the terms of a one-year contract with Tennessee on Wednesday.

This short-term deal indicates it's do-or-die for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound wide receiver, who only two weeks ago, got released from the final three years of a seven-year deal with the New York Jets.

With all that time on the bench over the last two years in New York -- McCareins made only 13 starts -- it seems there should still be plenty of life left in his legs and career.