Four-Star WR Reaffirms Illinois Commitment After Ohio State Offer

Illinois advanced to 4-3 (2-2 B1G) on Saturday after a 21-10 upset victory over Oregon, and one of the Fighting Illini's top recruits was in attendance for the win.

Wide receiver Bennett Konkey, a four-star prospect from Geneva, Ill., made the roughly three-hour trip south to watch his future program take down the highly-regarded Ducks. Konkey committed to the Illini in June, choosing Bret Bielema's program over Northwestern, Iowa and Iowa State.

But midway through Konkey's senior season at Geneva High School, an opposing Big Ten school attempted to pry the speedy wideout away from the Fighting Illini. On Friday evening, Konkey shared via social media that he had received an offer from the Ohio State Buckeyes, which are currently the No. 2 team in the nation.

Despite the allure of the national powerhouse Buckeyes — which won the National Championship just two seasons ago — Konkey remains committed to the program that pursued him early. In an interview with FOX Illinois and WICS ABC 20 sports director Carson Gourdie, Konkey reaffirmed his intention to play for the Illini.

"I mean, it's exciting, obviously, to get an offer from Ohio State, but I'm committed to Illinois," Konkey said. "That's the reason I'm here... Illinois, it's just been nothing like else. Northwestern, those schools are great, but the relationships that I built at Illinois have been amazing. The coaches, the family, all of it is just great. I think I fit in really well here."  

Konkey is experiencing a strong senior season at Geneva, where he's totaled 70 receptions for 1,397 yards and 19 touchdowns in only nine games. He's helped lead the Vikings to an 8-1 record so far and has his team vying for the IHSA Class 6A state title.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout is a track and field state champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, both of which he won as a junior. Konkey told Gourdie that, as much as he wants to run track in the spring and try to win again, he intends to enroll early at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and focus on football.

According to 247 Sports, Konkey is the No. 35 wide receiver in the Class of 2027 and the No. 12 overall player in the state of Illinois. He is the top-ranked player in Illinois' upcoming recruiting class and one of two four-stars, joining Evanston Township High School cornerback Justin Johnson.

Konkey had the chance to watch the quarterback who will likely be throwing him the ball at Illinois when he visited on Saturday. With starter Katin Houser injured, true freshman Michael Clayton II has earned the opportunity to lead the Illini offense and has impressed. In roughly a game and a half of play, Clayton has completed 65.4% of his passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns. Illinois is 2-0 since Houser went down, including Clayton's first start this weekend.