After an unexpected surgery, Rogan O’Neil hits comeback trail hard for Kaneland

It’s some of the best news from Kaneland’s offseason.

Senior Rogan O’Neil is back with the football team, better than ever and ready to shoulder the load at his usual inside linebacker spot for the Knights after undergoing an unexpected surgery.

O’Neil injured his shoulder during a Week 7 home game last year against Rochelle.

“It was the second play of the game and it really just popped,” said O’Neil, who was sidelined and missed the following week before returning to finish a season that ended in the second round of the playoffs. “At first, we believed it was an AC joint sprain.

“I played with a shoulder brace. It was a tolerable pain I could easily play through but it hurt.”

The injury was worse than originally thought, with a subsequent MRI revealing a torn labrum and bone fragments from an apparent clavicle fracture.

“I graduated from physical therapy early and was 100% ready to go about a month sooner than expected,” O’Neil said. “My shoulder strength is back and better than it was before the injury.”

A second-year captain and one of five third-year starters on defense, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound O’Neil will play a key role in the Knights’ perennial pursuit of a playoff berth, something the program has succeeded in doing 27 of the last 31 years.

“Rogan is a physical player and a strong kid,” Kaneland coach Mike Thorgesen said. “He loves football. I think that’s his biggest strength. He’s just a football kid. He’s a leader who loves to play the game.

“He’ll do some things on offense every now and then (at fullback), but he’s always defense first.”

O’Neil had 63 tackles with 10 for loss as a sophomore and finished second on the team with 78 tackles and 12 for loss last season for Kaneland (8-3) despite the time he missed.

He has followed a path similar to his dad, Steve, a linebacker in high school for St. Charles and then for two seasons at Eastern Illinois before his career was cut short by injury.

“When I found out he played football, that’s what I wanted to do,” Rogan said. “I started in fifth grade, playing on the line because I was one of the bigger kids in my class.

“We didn’t have a sixth-grade season (during the pandemic), which was odd. Then I got serious, wanting to play a skill position. I lost some weight and moved to linebacker in seventh grade.”

Playing at the next level also is on his radar. O’Neil has an NCAA Division III roster spot offer from Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“He got a lot better last year at diagnosing plays and filling the right spots,” Thorgesen said of O’Neil. “We’re excited about him. He’s the leader of the defense for sure — him and our free safety.”

Kaneland’s other third-year starters on defense — all seniors — include inside linebacker Jackson Slifka, Minnesota Duluth-bound linebacker Jackson Little and linemen Jackson Valentini and Reiss Thompson.

“We have some big names to replace on offense,” Thorgesen said, referring to the graduation losses of quarterback Jalen Carter and running back Carter Grabowski. “But I’m happy with what we have. It usually takes time to get your rhythm on offense.

“We’re wanting our defense to come out of the gates and set the tone early.”

Thorgesen, meanwhile, isn’t a fan of the expanded playoffs.

“I’m not loudly against it either,” he said. “But I didn’t have a problem with the old way.”

O’Neil doesn’t think it will faze the Knights, however.

“In our eyes, it’s not gonna affect us very much,” he said. “We expect to make the playoffs every year. That’s just a Kaneland football standard.

“Our goals are always winning a conference title. Now, I guess we’ll add getting a first-round bye and then making a good playoff run.”