These days, few players of his pedigree are still in the same place three years later. While some might have heard their name called in the NFL Draft last week, others could be on school two or even three by now with the relaxation of transfer restrictions.
Instead, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day saw Hicks at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday morning continuing his effort to transition to a new position.
“Somebody who loves being a Buckeye,” Day said. “He works really, really hard every day, puts in extra work. When I walked in here, he was out there getting some extra work on his own.”
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To this point, Hicks has 36 tackles, two sacks and one national championship on his college sports resume.
He said in the locker room after the championship game win over Notre Dame in Atlanta he is keeping the faith — literally — while acknowledging his career had not played out like he envisioned so far.
“I’ve had goals for sure,” Hicks said in January. “I didn’t get to meet those goals this year, but keeping my faith in God and understanding that, no, it’s His way, not mine. That His will be done, not mine. And I feel like He’s teaching me patience. And I know I’ve been saying that for the past few years, but I’m gonna just keep faith in God.”
That echoed the message he expressed during an interview at Alter in December of 2021 when he was finishing up his high school career.
“My major is going to be sports management and entrepreneurship, but football-wise, I’m just gonna leave it up to God,” Hicks said then. “If he wants me to play early, I’ll play early. If He wants me to wait, I’ll wait. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to give 110% every time I step on the field.”
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This spring, that meant trying a new position.
A do-it-all high school star who played on both sides of the ball for the Knights, Hicks moved from linebacker to lineman last month, a position transition that has produced positive early returns but remains a work in progress.
“He wants it, but I think he’s made the transition well,” Day said. “When you make that transition from being on the second level to on the ball, things change.”
Hicks, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds last season, is bulking up to handle the pounding from offensive tackles and tight ends but has displayed promise.
“He did a really good job in the pass game,” Day said. “He’s growing in the run game, learning how to set the edge and get off blocks. We’re encouraged with what we see, but again, it’s going to have to be a big summer for him.”
Defensive end is a spot that suddenly looks full despite the loss of three older players from last year.
While J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer were taken in the NFL Draft after exhausting their eligibility, senior Mitchell Melton transferred to Virginia.
That left behind only veteran reserves Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson, but the coaching staff has added two transfers — Logan George of Idaho State and Beau Atkinson of North Carolina — and four-star freshmen Zahir Mathis and Zion Grady.
Ideally that will not create a log jam for playing time, though.
Veteran defensive line coach Larry Johnson would like to rotate heavily to keep everyone fresh, something he has done regularly throughout his career (though not as much the last couple of seasons).
“The more we can do that, especially with the length of the season, we’re going to need to do that,” Day said. “I’m sure Larry wants to be able to do that, so that’ll be important. And I also think there are different skill sets of those guys that we can try to be creative.”
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