Two weeks into the 2024 season, C.J. Hicks has seemingly already lost his place among Ohio State’s top three linebackers.
Going into the season, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said he considered Hicks to be a starting-caliber player and indicated that he expected to find regular opportunities to get Hicks on the field alongside or in rotation with starters Sonny Styles and Cody Simon. Initially, that plan appeared to be on track when Hicks started Ohio State’s season opener against Akron at Will linebacker when Styles slid over to Mike linebacker to fill in for an injured Simon.
It didn’t take long for Hicks to show the playmaking ability Ohio State fans had been clamoring to see from him as he ran through a blitz pickup from Akron running back Charles Kellom for an 8-yard sack in the season’s first quarter.
Over the course of that game, however, Hicks was outshined by sophomore linebacker Arvell Reese, who rotated with Hicks throughout the opener and appeared to process the game more effectively from the position. As a result, it was Reese not Hicks who was the first linebacker off the bench when Simon returned to action last weekend against Western Michigan, and it was Reese who played all of the snaps alongside Simon and Styles in three-linebacker packages, which Ohio State deployed for the first time this year against the Broncos.
Reese has drawn considerable praise from both Day and Knowles for his performance through Ohio State’s first two games, making it clear that he will continue to be in line for considerable playing time going forward.
“Arvell has made tremendous improvements since he's arrived here. You're seeing him play fast. He's got tremendous physical tools,” Knowles said Tuesday. “For a linebacker, it's just a matter of knowing what to do and not having to think about it. So what you're seeing out of Arvell now is he's understanding where all the pieces go and he's able to play fast without thinking.”
The question now is where that leaves Hicks for the rest of his junior season.
Given that Hicks was the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, the expectation when he arrived at Ohio State was that he would make an impact for the Buckeyes much sooner than later. But he played only 75 defensive snaps during his first two seasons in Columbus, all in 2023 when he recorded eight tackles with one for loss.
Hicks has already matched those totals in 49 snaps through two games this year. But he’s also currently Ohio State’s lowest-graded defender on Pro Football Focus, with an overall grade of 49, among Buckeyes who have played more than 10 snaps on defense.
Simon, Styles and Reese – in one order or another – have established themselves as Ohio State’s top three linebackers with how they’ve played so far this season. Gabe Powers, a third-year Buckeye like Hicks and Styles, is also making a push for more playing time with his impressive performance in limited action, having already recorded three tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown in just 10 defensive snaps.
Going into the 2023 season, Knowles weighed the possibility of playing Hicks at Jack, the hybrid linebacker/defensive end position that was a significant part of his first Ohio State defense in 2022 before being phased out. Knowles has said that he thinks Hicks is at his best when he’s blitzing or being directed where to go, so the possibility of moving Hicks into a different role that allows him to play downhill more remains in the back of Knowles’ mind.
As of now, however, Ohio State needs Hicks to provide depth at linebacker more than it needs him as an edge rusher, giving the Buckeyes are already five-deep at defensive end with Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Mitchell Melton. So Knowles has no immediate plans of changing Hicks’ position even though he still thinks Hicks could be an impactful edge player.
“We haven't discussed that because C.J. is still developing very well and he's considered very much a part of that mix with those guys at linebacker,” Knowles said. “But I've said it before, it's always in the back of my mind because I think he has those gifts and tools to be able to do something like that. So it's nothing we've really discussed, but it's always there for me because I know it may come into play at some point.
“You would have to maybe experience some depth issues in other places. We're so talented on the edge right now and our depth is so good that it's not something that we need to do right now, but if something comes up, it's always a possibility.”
That could perhaps foreshadow what Hicks’ senior season at Ohio State could look like a year from now, when Sawyer and Tuimoloau will both be in the NFL but Styles and Reese could be Ohio State’s starting linebacker tandem if Styles stays for his senior year.
As things currently stand, however, the Buckeyes remain committed to keeping Hicks at linebacker. And Ryan Day still believes Hicks can be an excellent player at that position.
“We need C.J. right now to play linebacker,” Day said Tuesday. “We need to find a consistency there that we believe that he can do at linebacker. And although we have a few guys already, he needs to be part of that group, because if you're playing with three linebackers in a game, all it takes is one injury and you're right in the middle of it. And we know this is a long season, so he has to improve. He's got to continue to grow.
“We've seen him do it. We know that he can do it. It's just the consistency part of it. And so we believe in C.J. in a big way. And I know James and everybody in that room is trying to get him there because we want and need him to play linebacker.”
