Justin McCareins understands his role, which is probably why he has stuck in the NFL this long. The unrestricted free agent out of Naperville North completed a one-year deal with Tennessee and is looking for a place to play his ninth season.

His agent told The Tennessean that the Titans could be interested but might wait until after the draft to make a move, and that other teams are beginning to show interest in the 30-year-old wide receiver.

"Justin understands the big dogs are going to eat first,'' agent Cliff Brady said. "He's not looking for $5 million a year. He's not looking for T.O. money...but he wants to play.''

All along, Riley O'Toole said he just likes making plays. It looks like the Naperville Central senior will have the opportunity at Northern Illinois.

O'Toole was not part of the 24-man class the Huskies assembled last month. O'Toole visited Iowa during the football season and discussed the possibility of being a preferred walk-on at Arizona, but he has chosen to stay close to home.

The 6-foot-4-inch O'Toole has been one of Central's most valuable and versatile players across the last two seasons, lining up at wide receiver, linebacker, safety and punter. A unanimous all-DVC selection last year, O'Toole caught 28 passes for 537 yards and six touchdowns.

Recruiting comes down to where you fit on a program's big board. If a team needs a quarterback, Illinois would be a good place to look.

Of the top 30 juniors in the Chicago area, five are quarterbacks, all of whom are slotted within the first 21 spots. The list compiled by Taylor Bell and Tom Lemming includes Chandler Whitmer (Downers Grove South) at No. 6, John Whitelaw (Hinsdale Central) at No. 7 and Taylor Graham (Wheaton North) at No. 19. It appears the class of 2010 is stocked at the position.

It's winter, so Naperville Central guard Nick Linne is into basketball. But the spread offense quarterback who was responsible for more than 2,000 yards of total offense as a junior has begun receiving the mass mailings from college football programs, Arizona and Northern Illinois in particular. But baseball is another sport the 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pound athlete could potentially play on the next level. Linne said he'll be more prepared to weigh his options after the spring season.

"Really either football or baseball," Linne said. "Right now (I'm) really focused on football because I've already had my junior season. ... I still have to play my junior season for baseball and you really don't start getting letters for baseball until after that junior season so I got a ways to go."

Central's football and baseball programs enjoy state-wide reputations and its athletes are encouraged to play both sports. But relatively speaking the baseball team, which won a state championship in 2006, may have a slightly higher profile. Assistant Phil Lawler - whose son Scott is the associate head baseball coach at Notre Dame and brother Jim was a long-time assistant at Texas A&M - could open some doors.

"Coach Lawler's got a bunch of connections," Linne said. "If you're playing good for our team, he's going to get your name out there."

Within this recent notebook, Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean reports that there's little movement between the Titans and Justin McCareins, the wide receiver out of Naperville North and Northern Illinois. Wyatt writes of the contract talks:

Meanwhile, the agent for receiver Justin McCareins said it's been quiet so far regarding his conversations with the team.

"Justin really likes it there and is comfortable there,'' agent Cliff Brady said. "He would love to stay and try and leave there with a ring.''

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.

The Bears placed running back Garrett Wolfe on injured reserved Friday and signed linebacker Gilbert Gardner to the 53-man roster.

Wolfe, who rewrote the Northern Illinois record book, appeared in 13 games in his second season with the Bears, leading the team with 21 special teams tackles before being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

-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."