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If there ever was such a thing as a football offseason, it is melting away quickly. Downers Grove South's Chandler Whitmer, who has verbally committed to Illinois, was in California this week for the Elite 11 quarterback camp. ESPN.com has a nice Whitmer feature off the event.

As we reported again here, Naperville Central might be stuck with only one home game this season as it awaits the renovation of Memorial Stadium. These things eventually happen. The Bears played their 2002 home schedule in Champaign. And whoever buys the Cubs might need to find an alternate site at some point if the new ownership group decides to fix up Wrigley Field.

Central coach Mike Stine doesn't think it will be an issue. Of course, he's supposed to say that, but he's been pretty consistent. Whenever the topics of potential seeding or home playoff games come up in conversation, Stine always says it doesn't really matter. The primary benefit is having the team together from the final bell to opening kickoff.

"Home-field (advantage) in high school sports is a little bit overrated - maybe in all sports," Stine said. "It doesn't really bother me at all playing on the road. (Sometimes) it's actually better. You have the kids' attention from the time school gets out. They don't have time to go home. (Maybe) they're focused a little longer.

"We're not dreading that at all."

What do you think? Is home-field advantage overrated? Will this create problems for Central? In the meantime, look for more football coverage in the print editions later in the week.

In what's shaping up as a banner year for Chicago-area quarterbacks, Lake Forest's Tommy Rees has verbally committed to Notre Dame. Tuesday's announcement means that Rees will join Downers Grove South's Chandler Whitmer (Illinois) and Wheaton North's Taylor Graham (Ohio State) as BCS-caliber quarterbacks. Rees' father Bill is a former UCLA assistant and front-office staffer for several NFL organizations.

The Illinois High School Football Coaches Association has announced its 2008 Hall of Fame class. Those who will be honored on April 4 in Champaign include:

-Tim Dougherty: Lincoln-Way Central head coach is on his sixth school, compiling a 149-58 record and leading five undefeated teams during his 29-year career.

-Ric Johns: Belleville West head coach has gone 155-74 in 28 years at three different schools.

-Bill Mosel: Now at Thornton, he is 161-80 across 29 seasons.

-Paul Workman: Cerro Gordo head man is at his third school in 29 seasons, with a 163-110 mark on his resume.

If we've learned anything, it's that there's a difference between getting mail and getting an offer. This is a quiet period for recruiters, but Edgytim is very good at tracking this information down. And if Naperville Central quarterback Nick Linne grows physically (6-1, 195 pounds) and becomes even more comfortable with the spread offense, he should fit someone's profile.

"I've been getting pretty steady mail all winter long from a handful of schools," Linne told Edgytim.com. "Northern Illinois, Arizona, Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State seem to be the schools that are the most interested these days."

As a junior, Linne completed nearly 58 percent of his passes and threw for 13 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He also ran for 307 yards and seven touchdowns.

Back when it was called Division I, Central produced several quarterbacks of that caliber. First Linne needs to finish his basketball season with the Redhawks, who are threatening to go unbeaten in the DuPage Valley Conference. And then move onto baseball for a program that is coming off an appearance in the final eight of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer state championship.

Remember that this is just one wave of letters, but there should be options. For NCAA football coaches, the evaluation period picks up in April and May.

-What if the Big Ten does decide it needs a 12th member school to stage a lucrative conference championship game? Notre Dame values its football independence above all else. Syracuse football is in free fall, and its basketball program has strong ties to the Big East. Beyond that there aren't many obvious logical candidates. And nothing is imminent. But here's an interesting hypothetical that came out of New Jersey from columnist Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger, The Official Newspaper of Tony Soprano:

"If the Scarlet Knights prove they can win the Big East, if they finish the stadium expansion and keep selling out the stadium, then they can start mapping their exit strategy.

Big Ten officials insist they're not looking at expansion, but they need a 12th team to create a championship game. Rutgers, a large state institution in the shadow of the New York market, has plenty in common with the flagship schools in the Midwest conference."

-Vanderbilt defensive end Josh Jelesky, a Naperville Central graduate, is using his freshman season as a redshirt. That's not a huge surprise - coach Bobby Johnson and his staff have used the redshirt as a way to build program depth in the brutal Southeastern Conference. The Commodores (6-6) face Boston College (9-4) in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tenn.

-Northern Illinois will play Illinois for just the fourth time in program history on Sept. 18, 2010, the DeKalb university announced Wednesday. According to the press release:

"The Illinois game continues the Huskies' commitment to scheduling in-state foes as well as Big Ten opponents. Northern Illinois will play Western Illinois at Huskie Stadium in 2009 and will play host to Big Ten foe Wisconsin on Sept. 17, 2011 at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Huskies open the 2009 season at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison and will also play at Purdue next year."