4-star 2027 WR spurns Iowa football for fellow Big Ten foe

Despite a recent official visit to Iowa, 2027 four-star wide receiver Bennett Konkey announced his commitment to one of the Hawkeyes' primary Big Ten rivals.

On Tuesday afternoon, Konkey revealed his decision to join the Illinois Fighting Illini.

After an official visit with the Fighting Illini this past weekend, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound speedster from Geneva, Ill., picked the Illini over Power Four offers from Iowa, Indiana, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Duke, Iowa State and Syracuse.

‼️COMMITTED‼️
Excited to be part of the #famILLy@EDGYTIM@GenevaVikingsFB@AllenTrieu@BOOMfootball@BretBielema@coachjstepp@CoachEmbleton@BarryLunneyJr@Rivals@On3@CoachChris_Rollpic.twitter.com/z7NSJP5HFN

— Bennett Konkey (@BennettKonkey) June 16, 2026

According to 247Sports, Konkey is ranked as the No. 238 overall player in the 2027 class, as the No. 35 wide receiver and as the No. 12 prospect in the state of Illinois.

As a junior, Konkey also had 41 receptions for 739 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games played for Geneva High School.

While Iowa will need to look elsewhere on the recruiting front, the decision by Konkey should not be viewed as a major loss by the Hawkeyes, as the home-state Fighting Illini were viewed by many as the presumptive favorite for the speedy wide receiver.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: 4-star 2027 WR spurns Iowa football for fellow Big Ten foe