By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

When the NFL draft culminated on Sunday, Purdue receiver Chris Daniels hadn't been selected. But at least he had completed some of his homework.

The prolific pass catcher, who had a school-record 121 receptions last season, was at his home in Clearwater, Fla., awaiting a call from an NFL team, but the call never came.

Daniels, who thought he had a good chance to be one of the 254 selections, said he didn't watch the draft. Instead, the key component of Purdue's aerial attack last season worked on a project for his aviation technology class. The aviation administration technology major had to design a mock schedule for an airline crew.

But now Daniels' schedule is different than he thought it was going to be. He had expected to be packing in preparation for a trip to an NFL mini-camp in a few weeks. Instead, he must rely on his agent, Mark Vartelstein, to advertise him to the NFL teams. Because of that, Daniels is unsettled.

"It's difficult to say how I feel," said Daniels. "I'm disappointed of course but the whole story hasn't unfolded yet."

Daniels said Vartelstein assured him that the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interested in signing the wide receiver to a free-agent contract.

Daniels said the reason he didn't get picked was obvious.

"Speed was definitely an issue," said Daniels. "A lot of receivers who I never heard of got picked just because they had good speed."

Of the top 130 receivers eligible for the draft, Daniels was the slowest with a 40-yard dash speed of 4.79 seconds.

Linebackers Willie Fells and Mike Rose as well as receiver Randall Lane will also be looking for free-agent deals in the weeks to come.