{"id":112368,"date":"2026-08-06T14:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/112368\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:00:11","slug":"illinois-commit-bennett-konkey-after-winning-state-track-titles-ready-to-lead-geneva-to-bounce-back-season-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/112368\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois commit Bennett Konkey, after winning state track titles, ready to lead Geneva to bounce-back season \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geneva<\/a> senior wide receiver Bennett Konkey had a memorable offseason.<\/p>\n

After earning the unofficial title as the fastest athlete in the state in late May, Konkey added to his offseason momentum by committing to play football for Illinois.<\/p>\n

Konkey, who won the Class 3A state track 100 and 200-meter championships, is looking to make a splash in his main sport this fall. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder was limited in his junior season due to a severe hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Geneva football runs drills during its first practice on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Geneva. (Karen Naess for Shaw Local News Network\/Karen Naess )<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m a more known person ever since I won state for track and a lot of people know who I am as an athlete now,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cThis year I\u2019m feeling great. After dealing with a hamstring injury all of last year, my body has been feeling better than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said Wednesday\u2019s first day of football practice was a good sign for his offense, noting Konkey is playing at a higher level.<\/p>\n

Thorgesen said Konkey endured a difficult junior season, but he showed his toughness and desire to help the Vikings by nearly amassing 800 receiving yards. The Vikings open the season by hosting Libertyville on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n

Geneva, which reached the Class 6A state championship game in 2024, is looking for a bounce-back season after finishing 4-5 last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis confidence is sky high after the track season,\u201d Thorgesen said. \u201cHe\u2019s a complete wide receiver with his route running ability, speed and size. He\u2019s fully healthy. Seeing Bennett for the last three years, that injury limited him a lot last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took away one of his greatest strengths in his speed and explosiveness, but credit to him because he was able to play and still produce at a high rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Geneva's<\/p>\n

Geneva’s Ben Peterson throws a ball during the first practice on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Geneva. (Karen Naess for Shaw Local News Network\/Karen Naess )<\/p>\n

Besides his health, Konkey said his overall game is improved compared to last season. A full offseason training and competing at 100% made him a more complete player.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy overall route running has improved a lot since last year and my hands as well,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year\u2019s offense is going to be really fun to be a part of because we have a lot of returning guys and a lot of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorgesen said the Vikings\u2019 opponents will see plenty of Konkey at various spots on the offense this winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to have a big role in the offense,\u201d Thorgesen said. \u201cHe\u2019s a very smart football player, which means we can put him in a lot of places on offense to get matchups we like. He\u2019s an elite player. He has elite speed that you just don\u2019t see at the high school level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can run every route, and is not just a vertical threat. He\u2019s pound for pound one of the strongest kids on our team: that total package.\u201d<\/p>\n

Konkey said his chemistry and timing with senior quarterback Ben Peterson, an Eastern Michigan recruit, is another improved aspect for the offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known each other for a very long time and I think our friendship translates onto the field plus with his ability to get me the ball,\u201d Konkey said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Geneva senior wide receiver Bennett Konkey had a memorable offseason. After earning the unofficial title as the fastest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[51320,65,29214,42198],"class_list":["post-112368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-fnd-kane-county","tag-geneva","tag-geneva-preps","tag-high-school-football"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117048930056346725","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}