Benet's LeFevour has physical tools, stellar college stats

As a youngster, Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour always had an eye toward the NFL. After his senior year at Benet, he told a reporter he would get there.

''You don't realize when you're raising your children that they could perform at such a level,'' said Dan's mother, Judy. ''If you would have told me five years ago before he went to college that this would be where he would land, on a pro team, I would have said, 'Well, he always felt so,' but that's asking an awful lot of a child to have those expectations.''

Those expectations were realized when the Bears drafted LeFevour, a Downers Grove native, in the sixth round Saturday. He was the 181st player selected.

LeFevour didn't just dream. Blessed with physical ability -- he stands 6-3, weighs 229 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds -- he made the most of it. LeFevour finished his Central Michigan career with 15,853 yards of total offense, second in NCAA history. He is the only NCAA player with at least 12,000 passing yards (12,905) and 2,500 rushing yards (2,948).

He earned positive feedback at the Senior Bowl, raising expectations heading into the NFL combine. But he drew heavy criticism for his decision not to throw. It put added focus on his pro day, when he completed 55 of 62 passes. It was attended by 22 teams and led to invitations to several private workouts, but not all draft prognosticators were impressed.

''Everyone can have an opinion. Whether it's good, bad or indifferent, there's an opinion out there and there's not a whole lot you can do to change that,'' LeFevour said. ''I'm just trying to do what I think is best for me, and whatever people think, I can't really control that too much.''

''It's been a lot of fun, just having different experiences a lot of people my age don't get to experience. But at the same time, I'm working hard and I'm not trying to get too caught up with everything. You've just got to realize it's not the end of the road yet.

''I'm sure looking back on the experience, in 10, 15, hopefully 20 years, I'll have a Brett Favre-type experience and I'll think it's the most fun I've had in my life.''

Photo: Carlos Osorio, AP / Downers Grove native Dan LeFevour had 15,853 yards of total offense, second in NCAA history, with Central Michigan.