For QB LeFevour, it's about wins, not numbers

Dan LeFevour was far from a highly touted recruit coming out of Benet Academy in Lisle, where he ran the double-wing offense.

The quarterback picked up a few Mid-American Conference offers and eventually settled on Central Michigan.

Good choice.

The senior holds every major passing record in school history, and if things go well this year, he could pass a few guys named Chad Pennington, Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich to become the MAC's all-time passing yardage leader.

But LeFevour's game is about more than just passing. He's not too bad on the ground, either.

LeFevour and Texas QB Vince Young are the only players in Football Bowl Subdivision history to pass for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in the same season. LeFevour pulled off the rare feat in 2007, when his numbers were comparable to fellow dual-threat sophomore and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida.

Another 256 yards of total offense and LeFevour becomes the MAC's career leader in that category, passing Leftwich of Marshall, now the starter at for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.

For the 22-year-old from Downers Grove, it's not about the numbers, though.

"I don't think that's something I'd want to rest my hat on. I want to go out with a MAC championship and have some good team success. That means a lot to me," LeFevour said. "If I did something like that (set the MAC records) and didn't carry out the rest of my responsibility here, it wouldn't be worth it."

LeFevour's final season got off to a rough start Saturday when he was largely ineffective in a 19-6 loss at Arizona, with 108 yards passing and an interception and 18 rushing and a touchdown.

Things don't get any easier this week, when the Chippewas head 70 miles to the south for a game against Michigan State (1-0).

Spartans coach Mark Dantonio isn't any less worried about what LeFevour could do to his defense.

"I can tell you he's a very good quarterback. He's experienced with a lot of mobility. He can get north and south in a hurry," Dantonio said. "You can have everything boxed up, and he can scramble with it."

No one questions LeFevour's ability and credentials these days, but four years ago at this time, he was filled with doubt.

"I didn't know what I was gonna do," LeFevour remembered. "I was just a freshman hanging on by a thread."

He made more than a few calls to West Virginia wide receivers coach Butch Jones, who as an assistant at Central recruited LeFevour.

"He went through the normal struggles that a freshman does and questioned himself," said Jones, who currently is in his third year as Central Michigan's coach. "We probably talked once every two weeks, maybe once every month he'd call. ... He'd want to go home, or `Coach, I want to be with you. I'll transfer there.' Just the nights of talking and `You need to stick it out. You're going to be OK.'

"It's a credit to his perseverance and his family. They wouldn't let him leave."

LeFevour's first college game came during the 2006 season opener against Boston College on a Thursday night when starter Brian Brunner was hurt on the second play from scrimmage.

LeFevour played well and nearly pulled off the upset against Matt Ryan and the Eagles.

"The rest is history. Just being a part of his life ... has really been rewarding - to watch him mature and flourish," Jones said.

LeFevour's work on the field has been rewarding not just for the football program and its fans, but also for the school itself.

The Mount Pleasant university simply isn't accustomed to having an athlete of LeFevour's stature on campus. Sure, future NBA standout Dan Majerle made a name for himself at Central, but on the gridiron, LeFevour's as good as it gets.

The school even paid to have a 30-foot by 60-foot billboard featuring LeFevour placed on the back of the Comerica Park scoreboard in Detroit. The oversized advertisement's visible to those entering both the Tigers' ballpark and Ford Field across the street.

"It's pretty cool. I'm not going to lie," LeFevour said. "But at the same time, it's not a billboard about me or about football. It's promoting the school. With tuition being raised every year - especially with the economy in Michigan being not very good - I think CMU's been pretty wise with how they've spent their advertising money."

LeFevour has through the end of the year to secure the rest of his legacy at Central before beginning a process that he hopes will allow him to join those other MAC greats in having his name called at the NFL draft.

"It's a dream, but I'm not looking too much further than the next three or four months," he said.