Conor Hickey

BenU WR 28’

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

Ready to work!
@BenUFootball @ACC_Athletics @ACC_Chargers_FB

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

@Duffunk

[Trey Seifrid @TSeifrid33547]

Blessed to say I’ve committed to Benedictine University!
Ready to get to work!
@BenUFootball @CoachSchradesBU @ACC_Athletics @ACC_Chargers_FB

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

@TSeifrid33547 @BenUFootball @CoachSchradesBU @ACC_Athletics @ACC_Chargers_FB 😁😁

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Happy Super Bowl Week!

Be sure to register your son or daughter for the best spring flag league around.

#NQEF

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

@TSeifrid33547 @ACC_Chargers_FB @CoachDierking @CoachRago @ADFitzgeraldACC @ACC_Athletics @NCC_Athletics You know what to do 👀👀

[Jahdae “alldae” Walker @dae2walker]

ITS CHICAGO

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

@TSeifrid33547 @BenUFootball @CoachSchradesBU @ACC_Chargers_FB @ACC_Athletics @CoachRago Yes

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Lots of great ACC football players have went on to play at @BenUFootball

Trey could be the next 👀

#NQEF

[Jack Moses ∞ @jackmoses777]

I started playing football when I was 4 years old.

I fell in love with the game as soon as I started playing it.

I loved every aspect of the game. Running. Tackling. Throwing. Drawing up plays. Studying the other team. Watching my favorite players on TV. I always found it fun to imagine myself playing like my heroes in the sport. I wanted to be like Walter Payton, Devin Hester, Adrian Peterson, and my dad.

I played football from 4 years old for 14 years straight until I graduated high school. Many of my greatest memories and friends from childhood were from playing the game of football. The Lake Zurich Flames. The Lake Zurich Bears. The student sections at our games. Going to McDonald’s with the entire school after playing under the Friday Night Lights. Growing up with the game and everything that came with it was absolutely magical.

When I finished high school, I went on to play at Northwestern. It was something I dreamed of for years. But my time at Northwestern didn’t go as planned. I was constantly injured. I was also mentally unhealthy. I retired after 2 years. That’s when my life did a complete 180° and everything changed.

I began writing online. I figured out how to make money online and began traveling the world. For the next 3 years, I went to San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Austin, Thailand, Hawaii, and Peru. I changed a lot in those 3 years. But there was still a part of me that longed for the game.

In Peru, I had a dream that prompted me into another 180° turn. I dreamt of going back to college, playing football again, and playing the position that was my first love:

Quarterback.

As soon as I left the jungle, I began making phone calls. I found out I still had eligibility. I started sending emails out to every Division 3 school in Illinois, telling them my story, how I wanted to play quarterback, and even included a video of me throwing in the park with my friend in Austin, Texas.I got some responses back. Most schools wanted me to come play wide receiver or defense (including Aurora lol ;). But one school wanted me to play quarterback.

That school was Illinois Benedictine.

“Coincidentally,” my dad played at Illinois Benedictine for his freshman year 38 years ago. I went to visit the school the day after I returned from Austin. The moment I knew I was supposed to be there was when I walked into the locker room and saw Aaron Rodgers on the TV with the words “ayahuasca enthusiast” below his name. That was a divine wink from God. Rodgers was the first person to put plant medicines in my awareness back at Northwestern, and I attribute much of my mental health journey to working with plant medicines. You may not like him, but I am incredibly grateful for him. And it was an ayahuasca retreat in Peru where I had the idea to play football again.

I committed to Benedictine a few days later and enrolled in January. I remember showing up to throw with the guys in the gym without workout shoes or a football. They probably thought I was f*cking crazy (and maybe still do lol).

Over the next 11 months, I built friendships and a group of brothers that will last for life. It was one of the most magical seasons of my life. Practicing at 11 pm in the snow in spring ball. Lifting with the boys every day in the winter. Starting 6 games. Beating Aurora. It was everything I could have asked for and more.

Oftentimes during practice, I’d look up at the sky and ask, “How the f*ck did I end up here?”

In my last game ever, we went out fighting. We lost 14–10. But I had the most fun I’d ever had playing a football game. There was no anxiety or fear. There was just pure play, flow state, and love. Both my shoulders dislocated multiple times. I likely broke my nose. But I didn’t care. I would have had to be carried off the field to not play. I went over 100 yards rushing for the first time since I was 18. We drove down to the 1-yard line with 50 seconds left and scored a touchdown, but it got called back because of a penalty, and then we fumbled and lost.

But I was at peace. I left my heart out on the field. I could walk away on my terms, complete, without the thought of “should I have tried” lingering in my mind for the rest of my life.

Now, the retirement is official. It is time to say goodbye to the game (even though I do have 3 more years of eligibility haha). It is time to move on to the next phase of life and build Transcendence.

Thank you football.

You have done so much more for me than I ever could have imagined when I first laced up the cleats at 4 years old.

But now it’s time I let you go.

24/6/87/12 out ✌️❤️

[Trey Seifrid @TSeifrid33547]

Check out my senior season highlight tape 2026 RB/LB Aurora Central Catholic HS / DMs open, looking for a home
125 carries / 1,314 yds / 10.51 ypc / 19 TDs / 6 PATs / 3 sacks / 1 fumble rec TD
@ACC_Chargers_FB @PrepRedzoneIL @CSAPrepStar @EDGYTIM @DeepDishFB @sixstarfootball @CoachRago @ACC_Athletics

https://t.co/D70kboPcAJ

[Trey Seifrid @TSeifrid33547]

Week 3 vs Walter Christian highschool, 3-0 this season!! @livestrong83062 @CoachRago @ACC_Chargers_FB @ACC_Athletics

https://t.co/d06qSaoumA

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

https://t.co/ZUn987wS68

[Trey Seifrid @TSeifrid33547]

Check out my junior year touchdown highlights for weeks 1-6: 638 yds 67 car 9.5 ypc and 10 TDs. Three more weeks to earn a playoff spot. Go CHARGERS!!! ⁦@ACC_Chargers_FB⁩ ⁦@CoachRago⁩ ⁦@livestrong83062⁩ ⁦@ADFitzgeraldACC⁩
- https://t.co/pGv1d8i8xR

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

Go support Benedictine University Eagles Football by donating to the Eagles team campaign presented by @eTeamSponsor! 👉 https://t.co/aRsZAkK1Ar

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Have a day at North Central Trey! @treyseifrid10_

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Come join us for the ACC Youth Flag Football Under The Lights game! A great way to end the season!

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Come join us this summer at our Youth Football Camp!
https://t.co/OCjYaqQjyl

[Conor Hickey @Hick_1002]

Showtime 🐕

[Ethan Lewis @ethanlewis_22]

I am excited to announce that I will be continuing my basketball and academic career at North Central College. Thank you for the opportunity! Go Cardinals!
@NCCMBB @ILHoopProspects @ILLHoopsScoops @ET21Buckeyes @ACC_Athletics @ACCBoysHoops

[Ethan Lewis @ethanlewis_22]

https://t.co/NJsGPMvidZ
- Updated Highlights end of 2024 season
- Class of 2024, 6’6”, 200 pounds
- Thank you to all my coaches

@ACC_Athletics @ACCBoysHoops @ET21Buckeyes
@ILHoopProspects @ILLHoopsScoops

[Aurora Central Catholic Football @ACC_Chargers_FB]

Great first practice for the ACC Flag Football League! Excited to get things started with our first games next weekend!