It sounds like C.J. Hicks is going to get his wish.
Two weeks ago, Hicks expressed his desire to play on the edge in no uncertain terms during a since-deleted interview with an Ohio State reporter after Ohio State’s 45-0 win over Purdue. One week later, Hicks gave Jim Knowles more reason to use him in that capacity when he got in on a pair of sacks, as queued up in the videos below, with blitzes off the edge on Northwestern’s final drive in the Buckeyes’ 31-7 win over the Wildcats.
Knowles was seemingly listening to what Hicks said and watching what Hicks did as a pass rusher in Chicago based on what he said when asked Tuesday about the possibility of Hicks rushing off the edge more often in the future.
“C.J. has that talent and that skill. So I think his future is going to involve a lot more of that,” Knowles said.
That comment by Knowles could be seen as long overdue by not only Hicks but many Ohio State fans, as the idea that Hicks could be a better edge rusher than a linebacker is one that’s been floated all year long. It wasn’t a change Ohio State was ready to commit to earlier in the season, as Knowles and Ryan Day said in September that they were still counting on Hicks to be a key part of the depth chart at linebacker. But while the 6-foot-3, 233-pound five-star prospect has clear physical gifts, the second-string linebacker has looked much better in situations where his assignment has been to attack the backfield than when he’s been asked to drop back into coverage and diagnose plays in space.
Ohio State hasn’t necessarily needed Hicks to be an edge rusher this season with Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau leading the defensive end depth chart and Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. providing strong rotational play behind them. But Hicks has flashed when he’s been used in pass-rushing situations, and Ohio State experimented with the use of a Jack linebacker – the hybrid edge rusher position that Jim Knowles used in his first season at OSU in 2022 – in the Purdue game.
“C.J. has that talent and that skill. So I think his future is going to involve a lot more of that.”– Jim Knowles on C.J. Hicks rushing the passer
The experimentation portion of the season is over, so whether Hicks can carve out a bigger role on the defense down the stretch is uncertain. But Knowles believes both Hicks and Mitchell Melton, whose status for this week’s game against Indiana remains in question after he missed last week’s game against Northwestern with an injury, are capable of being effective in that hybrid role if Ohio State reintegrates it into its defense as a schematic changeup.
“I like what those two guys do,” Knowles said. “Always wanted to get Mitch involved and C.J. involved, they're good players. So I just always think there's a future there for that package for those two guys. I think they can be really good at it.”
Looking forward to next year, Ohio State will have more reason to consider using Hicks more consistently as an edge rusher. Jackson and Curry are likely in line to be Ohio State’s starting defensive ends next season, but the depth chart behind them is a question mark with Tuimoloau and Sawyer moving on to the NFL and Eddrick Houston moving inside to defensive tackle. There’s a possible path to a starting linebacker job for Hicks if Sonny Styles enters the 2025 NFL draft, but Arvell Reese projects to replace Cody Simon at Mike linebacker while Payton Pierce and Gabe Powers will also push for bigger roles at LB next year – and might be better options than Hicks to play Will linebacker full-time based on what they’ve shown in limited action.
For now, the question is whether Hicks can carve out a situational pass-rushing role on this year’s defense after playing mostly in backup duty so far this season. There’s been no clear indication of whether that will happen, but Curry said Hicks has been practicing in that role more often and Curry has been impressed by what he’s seen.
“He's been getting more one-on-one reps. I've been seeing him more on the pass rush, actually,” Curry said this week. “He's going to make plays, and he's going to cause havoc.”
