C.J. Hicks believes he’s finally playing the role that best suits his game.
For the past three years, Hicks has struggled to earn a consistent role in Ohio State’s defense while playing as an off-ball linebacker. Going into his senior season, Hicks is now a defensive end, and the five-star recruit from the 2022 class is confident about what he can do at his new position.
“I feel like the change to edge fits my play style a lot more. It allows me to be more aggressive. And when it's time to get to the quarterback, I’m gonna get to the quarterback,” Hicks said Tuesday.
Hicks believes his explosiveness off the snap will enable him to be a dynamic edge rusher, and he says his power is something people shouldn’t underestimate either.
“A lot of people think because of the fact that I am 240, I don't have any power, but I can definitely run through somebody's face if I need to,” said Hicks, who plans to bulk up to 245 pounds by the start of the season.
Although linebacker remained his primary position last season, when he played 149 snaps as Ohio State’s No. 4 LB behind Sonny Styles, Cody Simon and Arvell Reese, Hicks has been preparing for a potential move to the edge since last year. With Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau concluding their Ohio State careers last season, the plan as of December was for former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to reintegrate the Jack position into his defense this year, with Hicks playing that role.
While Knowles left in January to become Penn State’s defensive coordinator, the plan to move Hicks to the edge remains in full swing under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who’s excited about Hicks’ potential to play a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end role in Ohio State’s defense.
“Skill set-wise, he's really unique,” Patricia said Monday. “He can play off the ball, he can play on the ball, he does a good job of transitioning his vision. Sometimes when you go behind the line of scrimmage, you gotta adjust your vision, but he does that very well. And then just, I would say, his explosive power. When you watch him, obviously pass rush and he can have some great skill pass-rushing on the edge, but even in the run game, just that explosive pop that he can have.
“Some of the other type of like hybrid outside linebacker/defensive ends that I've coached in the past, similar type of skill sets, similar type of body frame, things like that. And that's good, ‘cause you can use them in unique ways and in different ways and hopefully cause the offense a little bit of confusion when you do that with those guys.”
Hicks said two players Patricia has used as examples for what he could do in Ohio State’s defense are former New England Patriots outside linebacker Willie McGinest and current Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Nolan Smith, suggesting that Hicks is likely to be used primarily as a standup edge defender even though he’s now a member of Larry Johnson’s defensive line unit.
Two of the most prominent recent examples of college football players who have transitioned from linebacker to edge defender are former Penn State stars Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter. Both of them became consensus All-Americans after making that move in State College, and Parsons is now one of the NFL’s elite edge players while Carter is a projected top-three pick in this year’s NFL draft.
Hicks draws inspiration from all of those players as he seeks to become a breakout star in his new role in Ohio State’s defense. But he isn’t looking to specifically emulate any one player.
“I feel like watching those guys, I feel like you can see it helped them in the long run,” Hicks said of playing linebacker before moving to the edge. “Especially with Abdul, especially what he did last year because of the fact it was his first year on the line of scrimmage. But obviously, I watch those guys, I watch other guys, but I'm my own player.”
“It allows me to be more aggressive. And when it's time to get to the quarterback, I’m gonna get to the quarterback.”– C.J. Hicks on his move to the edge
With only one remaining year of collegiate eligibility, Hicks feels a strong sense of urgency to make an impact for Ohio State’s defense this season. That was evident before his interview session on Tuesday, as he spent time with Patricia getting in extra work after the rest of the team had completed practice, and he says that sense of urgency drives him to work hard every day in practice.
“Every little drill that we do, I try to make sure I'm doing it to the T. I don't like to mess up, and that's why you see me after practice working with Coach Johnson or Coach Patricia. Because of the fact I know it's very urgent,” Hicks said. “But I still feel like I have time. It's only the spring. We have 158 days until we play Texas.”
Although Hicks still has a long way to go in his development as an edge player if he’s going to play a major role in Ohio State’s defense this fall, Johnson is encouraged by what he’s seen from Hicks through Ohio State’s first five practices of the spring.
“It’s still early – we just got off the second day of pads – so it's still early, but I think it's there. We've just got to continue to work at it,” Johnson said. “He's got the techniques good. He can be able to do it.”
Hicks acknowledges that his Ohio State career hasn’t gone the way he had thought it would go so far, but he “felt like God was telling me to stay” every time he thought about transferring elsewhere. As he enters his final season as a Buckeye, Hicks says he’s putting full trust in his faith that things will work out the way they’re supposed to this fall if he keeps putting the work in.
“It's been a long four years, but I'm happy where I am and I'm just going to continue to keep growing,” Hicks said. “I like where I am now, so I'm just trying to grow at this spot and get to where I want to go.”
