Konicek to See Field for Mavericks
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Konicek to see field for Mavericks Clarkson graduate in battle for starting job World Herald News Service OMAHA — It’s a time-honored tradition around the UNO football program, a practical joke that’s bound to work two or three times a season. Just before practice, when members of the media are interviewing players on the side- line, an assistant coach or teammate will tell a player that a reporter wants an interview. The unsuspecting player hustles over to the reporter, who then has to apologetically ex- plain that his services aren’t required. They got wide receiver Aaron Konicek with that gag at the start of fall camp, and the sophomore from Clarkson had to jog back to the laughs and smiles of members of his position group. But now look who’s smil- ing. Konicek Konicek has been called the story of fall camp at the University of Nebraska at Omaha by coach Pat Behrns, and only a bruised knee will cut into his playing time when the Mavericks face East Central (Okla.) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. sea- son opener at Caniglia Field. “Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of faith in him previously,” Behrns said. “But he’s just a hard- working guy who catches the ball well and is very difficult to cover.” Konicek, a converted eight-man running back, doesn’t look like a typical wide receiv- er at 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds. And he’s not a burner, covering 40 yards in a shade under 4.8 seconds. “The best thing about Aaron right now is the fact that he catches everything,” offensive coordinator Aaron Keen said. Senior quarterback Greg Wunderlich, who will make his second career start, said he’s comfortable looking Konicek’s way. “People joke that he should be playing line- backer,” Wunderlich said. “He’s so strong, maybe the strongest pound-for-pound on the team. His speed, hands and knowledge of the offense are all better, and it’s really shown.” Konicek rushed for 4,800 career yards for Clarkson High School — including 2,000 as a senior — but needed to improve his speed two summers ago. He has cut his 40-yard dash time from a pedestrian 5.1 seconds. —PleaseseeKONICEK,page11.