As C.J. Hicks thanked the crowd in attendance during his signing ceremony on Wednesday night, he had to pause for a moment to collect his emotions.
Hicks had reason to be emotional. Having dreamed of playing football for Ohio State since he was a young child, Hicks was finally about to sign the National Letter of Intent that would make that official. With family members, friends, his Archbishop Alter High School coaches and his trainers at Enhance U in Huber Heights, Ohio, looking on, Hicks put pen to paper and confirmed his place in Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022.
C.J. Hicks addresses the crowd at his signing ceremony and puts pen to paper on his National Letter of Intent to Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/fM1U1sWRsv
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2021
Hicks had already been committed to Ohio State for 19-and-a-half months, announcing he would become a Buckeye on May 1, 2020, but Wednesday was the first day he could sign with the Buckeyes and that Ohio State could publicly acknowledge he would be joining the program, which made it a special day for Hicks.
“Growing up, Ohio State was my favorite team, that was my dream school,” Hicks told Eleven Warriors after his signing. “I watched the video (of Ohio State announcing his signing) three times. It was shocking. It’s a blessing.”
Welcome to the Brotherhood, @imcjhicks
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 15, 2021
From Buckeye Legend @RyanShazier #BOOM22 pic.twitter.com/qZCtjLynJJ
If you follow Ohio State football recruiting closely, you already know how important Hicks is to Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022. Ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect and No. 2 linebacker in the class, Hicks is not only the highest-rated prospect on the field but also a player who encouraged many of the class’ other signees to join him in Columbus. Ryan Day gave Hicks credit for playing a big role in bringing the class together during his signing day press conference on Wednesday.
“He jumped in on this thing early, and he recruited a lot of these guys,” Day said. “He built that relationship.”
Hicks, however, is reluctant to take credit for Ohio State’s recruiting success, knowing that many other people – from the coaching staff and the graduate assistants to the other signees and their parents – were also responsible for recruiting other members of the class to the Buckeyes.
“I kind of don’t take a lot of credit for the recruiting, because it’s not just me,” Hicks said. “I don’t try to force OSU onto people. Because you have to want to come to the school yourself. So I just try to help direct just in case you do want to come.”
What’s not in question is just how invested Hicks is in becoming a Buckeye, even as it remains uncertain what Ohio State’s defensive coaching staff will look like next year. While it remains in question whether coaches like Al Washington and Kerry Coombs who played a big part in Hicks’ recruitment will still be with the Buckeyes when Hicks arrives in January, Hicks said he told Day that assistant coaches leaving would not influence his commitment.
“Coach Day told me a little bit beforehand that there was going to be a coaching change. I told him that it didn’t matter who was leaving. As long as I had a good relationship with (the new) coach, then we were fine,” Hicks said.
Hicks has already talked to incoming Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles multiple times, he said, and he’s been watching Oklahoma State film to get a feel for Knowles’ defensive scheme, which he believes will fit him well.
“They kind of run a similar defense to Alter so it’s not that much different, just different terminology,” Hicks said. “He’s a good coach and I like him. I enjoy him a lot.”
Hicks said Washington, who was Hicks’ primary recruiter as Ohio State’s linebackers coach, has told Hicks he expects to be back with the Buckeyes in 2022. But Hicks also says he’ll be understanding if that changes.
“He told me that he’s returning,” Hicks said. “I even talked to some of the linebackers that’s up there because they say he is such a good coach, he might leave. And I don’t really have a problem with that. He’s doing what’s best for him and his family. You can’t get mad at a person that’s doing what he dreamed to do. He is such a good coach. I see him being a defensive coordinator one day, I see him being a head coach one day. But like I said, it’s just all he wants to do, whatever he wants to do. That’s what it is.
“In my eyes, you don’t just commit to one coach. Yes that one coach does, you built that relationship with that person a lot, but with me, I’ve built relationships with all the coaches on the coaching staff. Coach Coombs, Coach Barnes, Coach Washington, Coach Day; even offensive coaches, Coach Alford, Coach Stud, Coach Hartline, Coach Dennis. It doesn’t really matter. As long as you want to be there, the coaches leaving shouldn’t really affect you.”
While he doesn’t know exactly what Ohio State’s coaching staff will look like yet, he does know he’ll be moving in at Ohio State on Jan. 4, less than three weeks from now. And he knows that from the moment he arrives, he’ll be working hard to do whatever he can to help the Buckeyes win in 2022 – especially the final game of the regular season against Michigan.
Hicks echoed comments from two fellow members of the 2022 class, Caden Curry and Gabe Powers, who both said earlier this week that “it won’t happen again” when asked about Ohio State’s loss to Michigan this year.
“All of us, we already got that mindset coming in that it’s not gonna happen again,” Hicks said. “That’s where all our heads are on right now. Workouts, make sure all of us give effort, all of us give 110% and dominate every team we play against for the next four years.”
Hicks has a little extra personal motivation to beat Michigan, too, after training with Wolverines safety Rod Moore when Moore was in high school.
“When he signed and committed there, he kept telling me, ‘We gonna beat Ohio State. We gonna beat Ohio State,’” Hicks said. “I said, ‘You better beat them before I get up there, because when I get up there, it’s not happening.’”
Hicks will get his chance to help Ohio State turn the tables on Michigan when the Buckeyes host the Wolverines at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 26. Right now, though, Hicks is just looking forward to getting to Ohio State and going through his first offseason as a Buckeye – though he already feels like he’s a part of the team’s brotherhood after attending every home game at the Shoe this season.
“Growing up, you’re watching like games like that, it’s like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Garrett Wilson, it’s Chris Olave.’ But now it’s like, I go in the locker room and they’re having a regular conversation with me,” Hicks said. “It’s crazy.”
