Much like everyone else in Naperville, Matt LaCosse watched Super Bowl 50 with eyes trained on Owen Daniels.
Daniels’ contributions to the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl title certainly haven’t gotten lost on LaCosse, a fellow tight end who was brought up to the New York Giants’ active roster in Week 14.
For the 2011 Naperville North alumnus and undrafted free agent out of Illinois, watching Daniels become the first Naperville native to win a Super Bowl as a player was noteworthy.
“I wanted the Broncos to win because of Owen,” LaCosse said of Daniels, a 2001 Naperville Central alumnus. “Just because of him being a Naperville guy, I wanted him to get his first Super Bowl ring. He deserves it. He’s a 10-year vet, works hard. I played with his brother Hayden at Illinois, so I definitely wanted him to get a ring and I’m happy he did.
“But I wouldn’t say I watched it any differently. I watched it like I watched every other game. Dealing with myself, seeing what he does, seeing how he handles himself – he’s definitely someone to look up to.”
For Naperville North student-athletes, LaCosse is quickly becoming someone to look up to, as well.
On Friday, LaCosse, James O’Shaughnessy and Sammy Marshall become the latest pro athletes to be honored as “Huskies in the Pros” and have their framed jerseys put on display in the hallway outside the gym.
That illustrious Naperville North trio joins previous honorees Dave Garnett, Jay Rensink, Justin McCareins, Glenn Earl, Chris Brown, Henry Domercant and Jerry Hairston, Jr.
“When you start off your day at North at school and whatnot, I’d always venture through the athletic building every day,” LaCosse said. “There’s NFL jerseys up there and you always saw there was one spot open in the bottom right. So as an high school athlete about to go play Division I football, of course it passes through your mind and you think about it and you hope one day it happens.
“But I guess you never fully believe that it’ll happen. So I guess it’s a little bit of a surreal moment. It’s cool knowing my jersey’s going to be up there for as long as Naperville North – that building – is there. So that’s definitely something that’s a huge honor.”
As a senior in 2010, LaCosse accumulated 2,137 total yards and 19 TDs as a quarterback while leading the Huskies to the Class 8A state quarterfinals in Sean Drendel’s first year.
After making a name for himself at Illinois as a tight end, LaCosse caught on with the Giants late in 2015 – hauling in three passes for 22 yards during a loss against the Vikings on Dec. 27.
LaCosse and O’Shaughnessy, drafted in the fifth round by the Kansas City Chiefs, are the fifth and sixth football players to be honored while Marshall becomes the first women to receive recognition.
Marshall, the only non-football player of the group, is a 2011 alumnus who went on to play at Western Illinois.
Crediting Huskies’ softball coach Jerry Kedziora for much of her success, she will enter her second season with the Chicago Bandits in 2016 as an infielder.
To be the first women so honored among the 10 former Huskies who have moved on to professional careers isn’t lost on Marshall, who appeared in 25 games as a rookie in 2015.
“I think it’s just an affirmation of how hard that all three of us – myself, Matt and James – have worked in our respective sports,” said Marshall, a two-time Summit League Player of the Year. “I know I have and I’m pretty sure Matt and James have, as well – we weren’t just the one-sport athlete.
“We played multiple sports multiple seasons and I think Naperville North does a great job in fostering an environment that allows that type of success and not just our one particular sport.”
Meanwhile, O’Shaughnessy – a 2010 alumnus who starred at Illinois State – caught six passes for 87 yards while seeing action in seven games before a foot injury suffered in practice in November ended his season.
The honor his alma mater is bestowing upon him is one of excitement, not necessarily surprise.
“Obviously once I made it to the NFL, I thought I’d might have an opportunity to put my jersey up on that wall,” said O’Shaughnessy, who caught 29 balls for 544 yards and nine TDs as a senior at Illinois State in 2014. “I know anybody who’s walked through those halls at Naperville North, those jerseys up there – they always meant a lot to me. To maybe have the opportunity to be up there and get a chance to share with two other Naperville North grads on the same day – it’s pretty exciting.”
The production of the four Naperville-area tight ends – Daniels, LaCosse, O’Shaughnessy and 2010 Naperville Central alumnus Cam Brate – doesn’t necessarily surprise LaCosse.
Rather, it’s the paths the younger three have taken to the league that has stood out.
“I think the big thing I take away from it is Owen was kind of expected to go to the NFL out of college, just having the great accolades he had at Wisconsin,” LaCosse said. “But myself, Cam and James necessarily didn’t have the most likely (road). I know James got drafted but coming from a FCS school and then Cam coming from Harvard and then myself going undrafted – all very unique routes to get to the NFL.
“So I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of – us four being able to kind of go up against the odds and just make a name for (ourselves).”
