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LB C.J. Hicks (Official Thread)

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“They call him ‘Captain Buckeye,’” Derrick Shepard, Hicks’ teammate at Archbishop Alter (Ohio) High School, told Eleven Warriors in July. “He’s one of the head recruiters they have for Coach (Al) Washington and the whole staff.”

Ever since committing to Ohio State on May 1, Hicks immediately and enthusiastically took on the role that Jack Sawyer, Kyle McCord and Ben Christman did early on in the 2021 class and that TreVeyon Henderson has in the same class since he committed in March.

“I talk to recruits every day trying to get them to come – Shawn Murphy, Dasan McCullough, Darrius Clemons,” Hicks told Eleven Warriors, referencing just a few names of players off the top of his head who he talks to on a consistent basis. “No matter what position they play, I’m still trying to recruit them to come be the best in America. BIA.

“I talk to (Justin Medlock) sometimes. I don’t talk to him as much, but I talk to him and Jalon Walker, telling them if you wanna be great, come be a part of BIA. They’re both really good linebackers. I’ve watched both of their film.”
 
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C.J. HICKS, DERRICK SHEPARD
Hicks showed his athleticism and playmaking ability in all three phases of the game on Friday night.

On defense, where Hicks is a mainstay for Archbishop Alter, the junior Ohio State linebacker commit made multiple big plays including a first-quarter sack and a second-quarter fumble recovery.



On offense, Hicks began the game rotating in at wide receiver but took over at running back for the Knights in the second half after Branden McDonald – who has his own Division I offers from several MAC schools – left the game with an injury. Hicks used his explosive speed and shiftiness to make several highlight-reel plays in that role, including one run on which he hopped over the line of scrimmage and then spun through another defender to break multiple tackles en route to a gain of over 15 yards.



Hicks also returns kickoffs and punts for Alter. He made one costly mistake in the return game when he lost a fumble late in the first half after taking a big hit around the 20-yard line, but he helped his defense get off the field without surrendering any points following the turnover.

Despite Hicks' efforts, Alter suffered a 14-12 loss to Badin, in large part because the Knights couldn't generate much passing offense. Hicks couldn't hide his disappointment after the game, but said he believes his team – which also suffered a 42-32 loss to Clinton-Massie in Week 1 – is improving despite the defeat.

“The first half of the first game, we didn't really play that good. The way we played the second half and the way we played this game was way, way better,” Hicks told Eleven Warriors. “If you watch the film, you can tell that we made a whole lot of mental mistakes the first game. This game we played smart, we still came out with the L, but we'll bounce back next week.”

Shepard only played occasional snaps on defense against Badin, as he played every snap on offense – mostly at right tackle, though he occasionally shifted over to left tackle – so there wasn't much opportunity to evaluate him as a defensive tackle on Friday. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder's power and athleticism was evident at offensive tackle, though, as he did a nice job opening holes for Hicks and others in the run game.



This is the first year Shepard has played regularly on offense, so he's been spending most of his time practicing on the offensive line, which he believes has made him a better player even though he expects his college future to be on defense.

“They always tell me that you really don't need to practice defense, you play defense, but you need to practice offense,” said Shepard, who does not yet have an offer from Ohio State but said he has talked to Buckeye coaches every day since Tuesday, the first day coaches were allowed to directly contact juniors. “It's definitely helping me understand, because I pick up stuff from my teammates, so it just helps me while on the defensive end, I know what the offensive guard, offensive tackle wants to do before he's going to do it.”
 
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Wherever he lines up, Hicks is going to make plays. He is an aggressive defender who doesn’t like to be kept away from the ball. Nicknamed “Captain Buckeye,” Hicks is also an aggressive recruiter. Who is he currently recruiting? He cited names like 5-star Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, 5-star California quarterback Maalik Murphy, 5-star Virginia linebacker Shawn Murphy, 4-star California receiver CJ Williams, 4-star Utah receiver Darrius Clemons, 5-star Virginia offensive lineman Zach Rice, and 4-star Georgia running back Damari Alston, to name a few. In fact, he could have kept going, but the buses were waiting.

Despite the recruiting process being thrown for a total loop during the pandemic, Hicks has taken it in stride while trying to build the nation’s top recruiting class. Even without visits, there is still an opportunity to build camaraderie in other ways.

“I mean, it's not that hard because it's not like I can see a recruit that's all the way in Florida every day,” he said. “You see like on social media communication, it's same thing with coaches and stuff like that. You're not gonna want to come to the college if you're not having good communication. So we have a group chat with a couple recruits that we're looking at, trying to make them feel welcome.”

Even though he has been to Ohio State upwards of nine times and taken part in Zoom visits, Hicks says that once players are allowed to visit again, he will be visiting OSU the first day it is allowed.

Eventually, CJ Hicks will be doing more than just visiting Ohio State. He will be suiting up for the Buckeyes. He expects to be doing much of what he is doing now, lining up at linebacker and attacking the line of scrimmage but also being able to drop back into coverage.
 
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Kettering (Ohio) Alter rolled over Middletown (Ohio) Bishop Fenwick 49-12 in a game Bucknuts attended. Linebacker C.J. Hicks was spectacular from the get go when he recorded a sack on the first play of the game. He finished with 13 tackles, three sacks and an interception return for a touchdown. Hicks also returned a punt inside the 10-yard line to set up another touchdown.
 
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