Nobody likes to be anointed the next Michael Jordan or the next Joe Montana.
Like those legends of their sport, Dan LeFevour has created a legacy at Central Michigan that will never be replicated by anyone who fills his spot once he is gone.
While there will never be another LeFevour, there could be a first Ryan Radcliff.
The incoming freshman quarterback from Hicksville, Ohio is certainly a legend at his alma mater of Fairview High School where he threw for over 11,000 yards and 139 touchdowns, including 64 touchdown passes in 2007.
As Radcliff leaves his high school legacy in Ohio, he now enters CMU looking to help build on the legacy that LeFevour has created for the Chippewas.
"I like to take everything I can from Dan,"
Radcliff said of studying under LeFevour. "I watch everything he does when we are on the field and just try to pick up on things. Right now, I am nowhere near Dan, but I am learning. Hopefully when he leaves, I will be able to pick up right where he left off."
Radcliff is currently enrolled at CMU and taking summer classes, like most of the incoming freshman class, so he could get a jump on the 2008 season.
"I think things have been going well,"
Radcliff said of moving to Mt. Pleasant. "It is nice to get up here and get acclimated with the team and the college environment. I feel like your life is a lot more busy, and you are always on the go, but it feels good so far."
Radcliff had been determined to get to college ahead of the fall semester, even before deciding to become a Chippewa.
"I knew before I even committed to CMU that wherever I went, I wanted to get there before the start of the fall semester,"
Radcliff said. "Once I decided to come to Central they worked with me as far as helping me get here for summer classes, so I could get a jump on things."
Radcliff faced a big challenge already this summer, as he was selected in the 34th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Radcliff, a catcher in high school, was taken by the Colorado Rockies with the 1,037 selection.
The temptation of playing professional baseball were there for Radcliff, but in the end, his desire to play football made his decision easy.
"I might have considered it for a little bit, it is hard not to,"
Radcliff said of choosing baseball over football. "But, the way things worked out, I was pretty much decided on playing football the whole time and now that I am here, football is my only focus."
Now instead of traveling in a hot bus heading to a baseball game, Radcliff finds himself in a hot dorm room, bonding with his fellow freshmen teammates.
"I think all of the freshmen are getting along really well,"
Radcliff said. "There isn’t a lot of people here right now so all we do is hang out in the dorms together on the weekends and get to know each other."
Of all the players Radcliff has bonded with, his time with LeFevour has been the best learning experience, as the junior quarterback has been very welcoming to Radcliff.
"Dan has been great and he has been very approachable,"
Radcliff said. "He has already been helping me learn the offense and get started on things. Those are things that he really doesn’t have to do, but he does them any way, and that is the kind of guy Dan is."
Radcliff likely won’t have an exciting 2008 season, as there is a good chance he will be red-shirted to preserve his eligibility for future seasons, but already the freshman is picking up on the college game and trying to keep up with the speed of the game.
"What I have noticed is that everyone is a lot faster and a lot bigger,"
Radcliff said of his brief experience in college football. "People talk about it being the next step, but it feels like it is two steps up. You have to really be on your game and know how talented everyone else is. It is an entirely new game really, but I feel like I am coming along well."
CMU begins practice for the 2008 season on July 31, with the Chippewas first game of the season coming on Aug. 28 against Eastern Illinois at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
