C.J. Hicks’ long-rumored move to the edge is finally happening.
Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson revealed Friday that Hicks is now a member of his position group, having moved to defensive end this offseason after playing linebacker for his first three years as a Buckeye. While Ohio State had discussed the possibility of using Hicks as a situational pass-rusher over the last couple of years – though it never actually used him in that role as a member of the first-team defense – Hicks is making a full-fledged move to edge defender this offseason as Ohio State hopes he can develop into an every-down player at that position.
Johnson says Hicks has to learn how to be a run defender up front rather than playing in space as a linebacker, but Ohio State’s longtime defensive coach is optimistic about Hicks’ potential on the edge based on what he’s seen from Hicks so far in winter workouts and meetings.
“C.J.'s with me right now trying to learn how to play the position, and I want him to learn how to play the position as a defensive end standup and not as a linebacker,” Johnson said. “I think that's the transition he's mentally got to go through. He's done an outstanding job thus far. He's bought into what we're doing, and I think that's the key when a guy buys in is like, ‘This is what I want to do.’
“And he has a really good skill set, so we can use him in a lot of ways, but we don't want to use him just third down, right? We want to use him first and second down. So my job is to get him ready to play the run from on the line of scrimmage as opposed to being in space. That's different, and once we accomplish that as we go, then I think he'll have a chance to give us some great depth and really do some good things for us. I'm excited about him, because he's really excited about the position change.”
Hicks’ move to the edge is likely to come in tandem with Ohio State mixing its defensive fronts more frequently in 2025 than it has in recent seasons. While Ohio State primarily used a traditional four-down front for the past two years with Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau leading the way at DE, Ohio State is expected to use standup edge rushers at least part of the time under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. That’s a role that could be tailor-made for Hicks, giving the five-star recruit from the 2022 class a chance to finally unlock his playmaking potential as a senior.
Johnson, who spent part of his media availability on Friday disputing the notion that he had a rift with former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles about the Buckeyes’ schematics up front over the past three years, says he is fully on board with the plan to be more multiple and deviate from four-down fronts as warranted in 2025. That said, Johnson wants his edge defenders to be able to play in multiple alignments rather than front changes being dependent on substitutions.
“Everybody gets confused that I'm a 4-3 guy, but really, you take a 4-3, you take an end and stand him up, you can slide to a 3-4 just like that, and that's a multiple defense without changing any personnel,” Johnson said. “So it's a four-man front, but we can go to a three-man, a four-man, a five-man, six-man in a heartbeat with the guys on the field. So I think that we've been multiple. We keep saying it's a four-man front, but it can be an interchangeable four-man front.
“If four guys can stay on the field, and you can pop (former Ohio State defensive end JT Tuimoloau) or (current defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr.) up, next thing you know, it looks like a 3-4, but it's four guys on the field playing. That's been in the game. And so I think that’s kind of how you’re gonna play defense now, because you can't substitute every play to get a new personnel, so those guys have got to be able to play from a four-man to a three-man or whatever. You have to be ready to do that.”
That means that Hicks must learn the intricacies of playing defensive end if he’s going to earn significant playing time in a rotation on the edge that will also include Jackson, Caden Curry and Idaho State transfer Logan George, with Joshua Mickens and incoming freshman Zion Grady among others who will also look to push for immediate playing time. But as Ohio State looks to replace the pass-rush production it lost from Tuimoloau and Sawyer, Johnson knows Hicks has the potential to make a big impact in that area.
“We know he can rush. He's got great speed off the edge. He really can get off the ball. We know that,” Johnson said. “Now, like I said before, can he play on a tight end in a six-technique? Standing up in a two-feet plank. That's the thing he has to learn how to do. Once he masters that, the rush stuff will come easy because now he's on the field. And that's what we try to work on as we get going into it. If we can walk out of spring with him feeling really good about playing a run and rushing the passer, then we've got a bonus, and that's the goal.”
Hicks’ experience playing linebacker could also be valuable in his new role as he has plenty of experience dropping back into coverage and playing in space as he’ll still be asked to do as an edge defender from time to time. While Johnson doesn’t know exactly what Hicks’ role or anyone’s role will look like yet in Patricia’s defensive scheme, he knows Hicks has the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways.
“That's a bonus if he can do that, right? Because he stays on the field. You bring a guy from space, you can drop him from space or you can blitz him, and I think that as we go forward, I think we'll try to build that,” Johnson said. “We just can't build it around one guy. You got to build out what he capably can do on the field. It’s early stage, so it's hard to say ‘This is what we're going to do’ because we're just putting it together. And I know that C.J. is very happy where he's at. He seemed to have a really good time understanding what we're doing, and so we'll see how it goes from there.”
“We know he can rush. He's got great speed off the edge. He really can get off the ball.” – Larry Johnson on C.J. Hicks
Having already used his first three years of collegiate eligibility, Hicks has just one year left at Ohio State to become the impact player he was expected to be when he signed with OSU as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2022 class, having been a backup linebacker for his entire career as a Buckeye so far. But he expressed confidence in an interview with Eleven Warriors at Ohio State’s Rose Bowl media day that he would still become that impact player in 2025.
“100%,” Hicks said when asked if he thought he still had time to make a big impact at Ohio State, citing how Cody Simon elevated his game this past season as a fifth-year senior. “I don’t know what my God’s plan is for me, but I’m gonna trust him no matter what it is.”
Although Hicks didn’t know at that time exactly what his role in Ohio State’s 2025 defense would look like, he said he would be “1,000%” on board with playing on the edge more.
“My best asset is getting to the quarterback,” said Hicks, who recorded seven quarterback pressures on just 19 total pass-rush snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
While Ohio State’s coaches expressed recognition of that ability but stopped short of actually moving Hicks to the edge in past years, Ohio State’s defensive front braintrust of Patricia, Johnson and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis enters this spring in alignment with the assessment that Hicks should be playing on the edge and rushing the passer.
“I think that's exactly what kind of potential C.J. has is the ability to get on the edge, move around. The nice thing about that is that you're not handicapped just with C.J. doing one thing off the edge,” Laurinaitis said. “You have the ability, because he understands conceptually zone drops, linebacker terminology, you can get really creative with how you use him. But I think he definitely needs to be utilized more as just go after the quarterback, go be disruptive, go attack.”
