Recently in Northwestern Category

After weighing all his options, Naperville Central senior Nick Linne has committed to play baseball at Northwestern.

The three-sport athlete will focus on baseball instead of actively searching for more football opportunities. The Redhawks quarterback threw for 1,711 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior, later drawing an offer from Illinois State.

Linne, a versatile infielder/outfielder, said that Central baseball coach Bill Seiple and his Illinois Sparks travel team coaches did too much selling to Northwestern on his behalf to reconsider the decision.

"It's just a verbal right now, but I'm not gonna change my mind. It's not gonna happen," Linne said Thursday after football practice. "I'm really excited to get up there next year."

In Thursday's print edition we look at Levelle Brown and his foundation work, as well as give an update on his younger brother Chris, who sounds ready to contribute to the Houston Texans.

Here's the Q&A session between Chris and HoustonTexans.com in May.

Northwestern sophomore offensive lineman Colin Armstrong, a Benet graduate, is listed second at center on the team's 2009 preseason depth chart.

Northwestern offensive line coach Bret Ingalls will jump to the NFL and work for Naperville native Sean Payton in New Orleans. The Saints will get an assistant who apparently had some good connections in the Chicago suburbs.

ESPN.com Big Ten writer Adam Rittenberg reports in his blog:

(Ingalls) coached the Big Ten's youngest line this season and got decent results, as Northwestern tied for second in the league in fewest sacks allowed (22) and went 9-4. Ingalls' biggest contributions have come as a recruiter, as he helped land top line prospects like Brian Mulroe (Loyola), Nick Adamle (Wheaton North) and Jeff Radek (Neuqua Valley) last February.

Payton and Ingalls worked together at San Diego State in the late-1980s and early-1990s, helping develop a running back named Marshall Faulk.

We checked in with Waubonsie Valley senior kicker Mitch Ewald last week for the Sunday column, and after a busy offseason he thinks he'll have a good chance to win the job at Indiana.

"I'll be the kicker on scholarship," Ewald said. "It comes down to whoever performs in camp."

The Hoosiers will need to replace redshirt senior Austin Starr, who last season kicked all 17 of their field goals and handled 53 of 54 kickoffs. Indiana finished 3-9, with its only Big Ten victory coming against Northwestern.

"I definitely know that my coaches have high expectations (for) me and I have even higher expectations for myself," Ewald said. "But there's no doubt in my mind (that I'll) go down there and win the job. That's what my plan is."