Ohio State football has a former 5-star prospect who might finally be ready to take a step.

Ohio State linebacker C.J. Hicks is entering a key spring with the possibility to finally gain meaningful playing time.Courtesy Goodyear Cotton Bowl

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When is C.J. Hicks going to force his way onto the field?

 

That question has lingered since the former five-star prospect arrived onto Ohio State’s campus, and now we finally might be receiving an answer.

 

Hicks arrived in 2022 as a top-five recruit with all the potential in the world. His personality as a recruit showed he was on his way to one day being a captain for the Buckeyes. He readily passes the eye test of an excellent football player, standing at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. He even spent his days at Archbishop Alter High School outside Dayton showing off a raw skill that suggested that he was destined to be the program’s next All-America linebacker.

All of those attributes are still there three years later, but what was often absent was the opportunity to display it on Saturday.

“Consistency,” recently hired linebackers coach James Laurinaitis remarked when asked about Hicks. “C.J. has all the potential in the world. Sometimes he’s simply gotta cut it free and go play.Consistency is what made Laurinaitis a three-time All-American throughout his playing days. It’s what pushed Tommy Eichenberg from just being another player to one of the more productive players on OSU’s defense the last two seasons. It’s what will be the difference between Hicks living up to that top-10 ranking he entered with, or falling short of it.

It’s the solution he and Laurinaitis will spend the next 15 spring sessions figuring out. The reps are there: Cody Simon is the only returning OSU linebacker who has ever played a meaningful snap of college football.

 

“It’s a big spring for our guys,” Laurinaitis said. “There’s a lot of guys that are gonna be fighting for playing time. I suppose Cody is probably the only one with starts under his belt.”

Simon has played 1,059 snaps in his career. The 374 he played last season are 278 more than what every other linebacker on the roster has played, combined.

Now the reset has arrived in 2024 with Simon leading a linebacker group that has Hicks and Gabe Powers entering Year 3, Arvell Reese in Year 2, and 2024 signees Payton Pierce and Garrett Stover.

It’s probably safe to pencil in Simon as a starter. Pierce enrolled early but is currently healing from an injury incurred during his senior high school season, Stover will presumably be redshirting this year, too.

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