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Returning from a year he would probably rather forget for more reason than one, LB Jordan Hicks is going to add an extra kick to the Texas Longhorns defense that it so desperately needs. The best part about this news is that Longhorn fans will get to see Hicks for an extra year after the junior was granted a medical redshirt for missing last season due to a hip injury.
Hicks was supposed to be the next real deal at LB for the Longhorns. Much like those who had dawned the burnt orange and white before him, Hicks was recruited with expectations that weren’t up in the air but rather a sure thing.
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A Parade High School All-American, Hicks won the high school Dick Butkus Award in 2009 at Lakota West High School in Ohio. Recruited by former Longhorn coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp before his departure to take the Florida Gators head coaching job, Hicks was the No.1 LB in the nation coming out of high school and the 16th overall recruit on rivals.com.
Hicks will be the focal point of a defense that will look for improvement from last season at the LB and DL positions. Along with his expected addition to the success of the defense there are a lot of people looking to see how he will take care of his body this season coming off of an injury, not to mention how he will spend his free time when he isn’t with the team.
Last December’s Alamo Bowl fiasco that left a short-lived sexual assault charge on the table for he and backup QB Case McCoy left a bitter taste in a lot of Texas fans’ mouths. Hicks can silence all of that talk and the mockery the Longhorn defense has endured this season with a rejuvenating performance that lifts the Texas defense among some of the most feared in the country.
My prediction for Hicks is a breakout season that reminds people he hasn’t gone anywhere.
Corey Elliot covers the Big 12 for Rant Sports. You can follow Corey on Twitter and Facebook.
