Excitement Surrounds This Newfound Weapon During Buckeyes’ Spring Ball The Ohio State Buckeyes may have found something in their new weapon that has been in front of them for three years.
Sometimes a change of scenery is necessary for a player to find his role and to excel. For former Ohio State Buckeyes’ linebacker CJ Hicks, a position change has the coaching staff excited about what could become the fall.
Hicks came to Ohio State as one of the top recruits in the country. Hailing from Archbishop Alter in Dayton, Ohio, Hicks was ranked the 10th-best prospect in the country, the second-best linebacker, and the second-best prospect in the state of Ohio.
He was just one spot behind Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, one spot ahead of Sonny Styles and two spots ahead of Tegra Tshabola in recruiting rankings in the state of Ohio. All rankings are provided by 247 Sports recruiting.
Since getting to Columbus, things have not gone as planned for Hicks. He struggled to make his way into the starting lineup for a combination of reasons.
First, he was behind the heart of Ohio State, Cody Simon, and the second was that his skillset has not matched his responsibilities at linebacker.
Through three seasons, he has tallied just 36 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and just one pass breakup. Compare that to classmate Sonny Styles who has 162 career tackles. A perfect example of two careers going in two separate directions.
Instead of Hicks packing his bags and finding a new home, he is going to try his hand as an edge rusher under Matt Patricia’s brand new pro-style system. The thought of Hicks putting his hand in the dirt has Buckeyes coaches very excited about the prospects of what he has in store.
Hicks will not be an every-down defensive end the likes of Jack Sawyer or JT Tuimoloau. He will be more of the specialty pass rusher, the guy who is called in on third and long when everyone in the stadium knows it is going to be a pass play.
For a defense looking to replace eight of its starters from a year ago, finding a diamond in the rough would be an advantage. If Hicks can become the weapon that the Buckeyes need, he could be something special.
