Step aside Addai...

It's the offseason in all the Penn sports, so there's not much to talk about. But for a few former Ivy Leaguers, there is no offseason, football is their job.

Former Penn senior captain and offensive lineman Sean Estrada was recently signed by San Francisco, and is trying out as a center for the 49ers. He has a few people he needs to beat out, but has a legitimate chance to be the team's backup center.

Some news that's even more interesting to Ivy football fans is that Harvard's record-setting running back Clifton Dawson will get every chance to not just make the team, but have an impact for the Indianapolis Colts this season.

The Super Bowl Champs lost running back Dominic Rhodes, who shared carries with rookie sensation Joseph Addai, in the offseason. One might expect the Colts to toss the responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of the thousand-yard back, but Indianapolis likes the way the two split carries so effectively in the playoffs and wants to do it again.

What makes this desire to give someone else double-digit carries each game so odd is that the Colts have no running backs on the roster with any NFL game experience. This means that Dawson, the Ivy League's all-time leading rusher, will have to beat out DeDe Dorsey -- a primarily special teams contributor for the Colts a year ago, Kenton Keith -- a runner in the CFL (sadly he's not also Canadian, like Dawson) the past three seasons and Chris Morgan -- another undrafted free agent from Indiana (Pa.).

Dawson still is a long shot to get playing time, but he will have every chance against three other unproven guys. Dorsey is a clear favorite to be the number two guy because he's had almost a year to get to know the playbook, though the Colts could likely try to bring in a free agent if none of these players have promising minicamps.